


I Told You So

by CatsBalletHarveySpecter



Category: Suits (US TV)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Party, Darvey - Freeform, F/M, Fluff and Angst, New Year's Eve, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-17
Updated: 2018-12-29
Packaged: 2019-08-24 12:28:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 54,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16640111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CatsBalletHarveySpecter/pseuds/CatsBalletHarveySpecter
Summary: Or read it here: https://www.fanfiction.net/story/story_preview.php?storyid=13120305&chapter=1I'm new to the fanfic writing world, so please let me know what you think!





	1. I Told You So - Ch 1

**Author's Note:**

> Or read it here: https://www.fanfiction.net/story/story_preview.php?storyid=13120305&chapter=1
> 
> I'm new to the fanfic writing world, so please let me know what you think!

December 10th  
She entered her office Monday morning to find Harvey sitting at her desk sporting his trademark Cheshire cat grin. Things in the office had gone “back to normal” between them over the last several months, if you consider back to normal unsubtle flirting and stealing glances when the other was not looking, it was basically just like old times back in the DA’s office, back before the other time. Despite the back to normal behavior they claimed, Harvey Specter was the last person she expected to find in her office at 8am on a Monday.

“Donnnna” he grinned

“Harvey, you know this isn’t your office, right?” she teased

“Come to think of it, I thought it looked a little different” he quipped right back

“What can I do for you Harvey?”

“What makes you think I need something? What if I just missed my favourite COO?”

“We both know you haven’t made it into the office before 8:30am for the better part of your career here, so you must need a favour if your willing to sacrifice some of your precious beauty sleep” she replied smugly

God, he missed this. Ever since promoting her to COO they haven’t spent as much time together at the office. He’d be lying if he said he didn’t miss their flirty banter. If he was being truthful, he missed having her around period. But now was not the time to go there. He had done one hell of a job keeping his emotions in check for the last 12 years, he wasn’t about to let them get the best of him now. Besides, he came in here for a reason, he did need something. A huge favour. He had been thinking about how to ask her for the last three hours, which is why he beat her to the office this morning and even had time to stop and get her favourite coffee on his way.

“Now that you mention it” he gets up and rounds her desk, approaching her and presenting her with the coffee he had hidden behind his back. “I need to ask you to do something for me and I don’t want you to take it the wrong way”

“Ok” she replied, the caution clearly treading through her voice, eyeing the coffee.

“I-need-you-to-be-my-date-to-my-brothers-wedding-vowel-renewal” he spit out as fast as he possibly could. Smooth Specter, smooth, he thought to himself.

“What was that?”

“Common Donna you heard what I asked you”

Of course, she’d heard what he asked her, she was Donna after all. But after watching the panic rise in his face as he waited for her to answer, she decided to have a little bit of fun with him, after all this was one of their things.

“Why don’t you ask me at a normal speed?”

Rolling his eyes, Harvey hands her the coffee and plasters on his best puppy dog look.  
“Donna, will you please attend my brothers wedding renewal with me, …….as friends of course?”

For the briefest of moments she let herself get her hopes up thinking maybe, finally, he was asking her on a date, but then he threw in the friends’ comment, snapping her back to reality. This was Harvey she was talking to. Her boss and dare she say best friend of almost 13 years. He had tons of girls that would line up to be his arm candy at a reception, why was he asking her? Do you ask your good friends to events like this? Maybe this was all part of their new normal? Quickly regaining her composer (in true Donna fashion) and not letting him see how thrown off she was by the comment she couldn’t help herself from adding a quippy remark.

“What no pretty please?”

“If that’s what it takes, pretty please Donna”

“With cherries on top?” she mused. She was having way too much with this.

“I was thinking more like with whip cream on top” He remarks a without missing a beat, mischievous grin spreading across his face.  
She blushes at the thought and he’s elated that he now has the upper hand.

“Why do you want me to go with you Harvey? Why not just take one of those girls who would die to go to an event with the Harvey Specter“  
“Well you see, I’ve sort of, kind of, accidentally, may have told Marcus I was bringing you, as my girlfriend” He blushed at the admission. The fact that he can’t read her expression only sends him into a further panic, so he rambles on needlessly,  
“Plus, it’s my family Donna, I’ve only just started talking to my mom again and I’m not sure how I feel about spending an entire weekend with them”

“Why did you tell your brother that I was your girlfriend?” she manages to spit out in what she hopes is a calm tone, wondering if he can tell that she is stunned by his admission.  
“I PANICKED! He was questioning me, asking if I was ever going to settle down and find the right women and I just panicked and said that I had, and he would meet her at the reception. Look I’m sorry Donna I didn’t mean to make things even more awkward between us, and I understand if you don’t want to go and pretend to be dating, I just didn’t know what else to do. I was being attacked”

“Why me?”

“You know why… “

She hadn’t even realized that up until he answered she had been holding her breathe, staring at a mark on her shoe. She brought her head up to meet his gaze, his eyes softening when they meet hers.

“You know me better than anyone, and you of all people understand the complicated relationship I have with my family, I need you there with me”

“Need?”

“Need” he nods reassuring her

She sips the coffee he brought her, her favourite; caramel with a hint of vanilla. She takes in the man in front of her, a man who seldomly shows his vulnerable side, standing in front of her completely exposed, asking for a favour point blank. It was so un-Harvey like to be so open about something like this, Louis’s therapist must really be helping him to open up, she thinks. She’d be lying if she said she hadn’t thought about what it would be like to be Harvey’s girlfriend. More often than not she found herself daydreaming about what life would be like if they really DID have everything. If they were to cross that line and never look back. But she forced herself to put those feelings in a box, lock it up and never look back. That’s why they worked. After the other time they agreed never to bring it up, and for a while it worked for them. Until he told her he loved her. Yet somehow, they moved past that, throwing it into the box of things never to be spoken of again. Over the years they continued to add to the box; requests for more, stolen glances, Harvey’s jealousy of Stephen, her own jealousy of Paula, that kiss she lied about and she felt nothing from, that time he held her close while they danced, all thrown into the box, never to be brought up again. She figured this would likely be one of those things that gets added to the box, never to be spoken of again, so of course, she could do this favour for him. After all they were just friends, she convinces herself. This is what friends do, help friends in need.

“Alright Harvey, I’ll pretend to be your girlfriend, but first things first, I always pictured Harvey Specter’s girlfriend wears the newest Louis Vuitton’s” She grins.

“In that case, I’ll have Ray pick you up at 8 on Friday, we have some shopping to do”

He throws a wink her way and starts to walk out of her office. She sits at her desk and gets to work.

“Donna” He stops at the door, “Thanks”

And he leaves her to begin her day. 

 

He can’t believe she said yes. He doesn’t know if her agreeing to this is a good or bad thing. Even though he’ll save face with his brother he doesn’t know if he can survive an entire weekend pretending to be her boyfriend without his feelings for her resurfacing. She may not have felt anything when she kissed him, but he hadn’t been able to shake the feeling of her lips on his since it happened.

And her agreeing to this game of pretend must mean she had nothing to worry about, which only drives him to think maybe she really didn’t feel anything. He knows why he panicked and told Marcus he was dating her, because try as he might he couldn’t think of a single woman that compares to her. He has no idea what he’s going to do about this upcoming weekend, but he knows one thing for sure, if he doesn’t get his feelings in check, he is in for a world of trouble.


	2. I Told You So Chapter 2

Ch 2. December 14th

The week seemed to fly by, both of them being pulled into meetings with various clients. Harvey won both cases he took to court and by Thursday evening he was on cloud 9. He headed to his office to grab his jacket when he noticed the light in her office was still on. For someone who started off with a career as a legal secretary, he must admit he admires how dedicated she is to the job and is even proud of how wonderfully she is fitting into her new role at the firm. The week had passed by in such a hurry he almost forgot to make sure was prepared for their weekend. THEIR weekend, he sighed and reminded himself for the third time this week that this wasn’t real.

He watches her work in silence for a few minutes, taking in how beautiful she really is. To anyone else it would appear as though she was simply working, but to him, these are the moments where he finds her the most beautiful. He misses the days where he could steal a glance of her outside of his office, lost in thought while setting up his weekly meetings, seemingly unaware of just how much her mere presence affected him.

She notices him before he has a chance to greet her, smiling at him over her computer.

“Hey stocker, how long have you been standing there?”

“Only a few minutes, I didn’t want to interrupt”

“Interrupt looking at resumes for the worlds most unqualified associates, please come in” she says adding an eye roll for dramatic effect.

“That bad, eh?”  
“This one wouldn’t know a courtroom from the lunchroom, I swear sometimes I miss the simplicity of my old job”

“But mostly me, right?” He jokes, taking a seat on her couch

He’s met with another eye roll as she grabs two glasses and a bottle of Scotch, joining him on the couch. 

“What’s this for?” he asks

“I just assumed you came in here to prepare me for tomorrow, you know see if I’ve changed my mind yet"

“Have you?” He asks hesitantly, not really wanting to know the answer if it is anything but yes

“No, I haven’t. I will see you bright and early for a little shopping before we hit the road”

She watches as a wave of relief washes over Harvey, who downs the rest of his drink.

“So, are you nervous?” he questions

“Why would I be nervous?”

“You know how families can be, they’re going to want to know all the details like how long we’ve been dating, when are we getting married, who’s place do we stay at… you know all that personal stuff”

“Maybe we should think of some answers to those questions together, just so our stories match?” she asked. She hadn’t been nervous 10 minutes ago but come to think of it, Harvey was right. This wasn’t just a new acting challenge she could take on, fouling Harvey’s family into thinking they were a couple was not going to be easy if they didn’t have their story straight.

A knock on her door interrupts her thoughts. The pair turn to see Mike standing at the door, waving a stack of case files at Harvey.

“Alright why don’t we meet in my office in a few minutes to get our story straight, I just need to see what Mike wants” Harvey told her, leaving his glass on the table and heading towards his office with Mike in tow.

Once they reach his office Mike pauses to look at Harvey, who is now riffling through the files Mike was previously holding.

“Get your story straight with Donna? Care to tell me what that was all about?” he challenges.

“It’s nothing”

“Really because it seemed to me like Mom and Dad were having a serious talk. Seriously Harvey, are one of you in trouble? I’ll do anything I can to help, just name it, you guys are family to me”

“I appreciate it Mike really, but everything is fine, Donna is just coming with me to Marcus’ reception this weekend”

Mikes eyes widen as he takes in what Harvey is telling him.

‘You mean you finally had the balls to ask her out?! Holy shit this is huge!” Mike exclaims, unable to keep his excitement to himself.

“Don’t throw a party just yet, I didn’t exactly ask her out…”

“What do you mean, not exactly?”

“Well, Marcus baited me into telling him I’m in a serious relationship, and I lied and told him it was with Donna”

“YOU DID WHAT?! Does Donna know about this?”

“Yes, she knows, that’s why she’s agreed to come with me, as my girlfriend, …my fake girlfriend”

Mike nearly chokes on the water he’d been drinking and Harvey eyes him disapprovingly.

“What?” Harvey asks defensively

“Nothing, nothing, I just would pay big money to watch you two play house for a weekend”

“We are not playing house, were friends and she’s just doing me a favour”

Harvey finished looking over the files and passed them back to Mike just as Donna approaches his office. Before she enters Mike quickly looks from her to Harvey, shakes his head and whispers in Harvey’s direction “When you two come back from your fake-action madly in love, don’t say I didn’t see this coming, get ready for an I told you so.” And with that Mike leaves Harvey’s office, holding the door open for Donna to enter and making kissy faces at Harvey while she isn’t looking before heading to tell Rachel the news. 

Before heading to Harvey’s office Donna makes a quick detour to Rachel’s office. She needs her best friend’s fashion advice for the upcoming weekend.

After telling her what the plans for the weekend were, she is greeted with a sympathetic smile from Rachel.

“Oh Donna, are you sure you can handle doing this?” Rachel questioned.

“Of course, why wouldn’t I be able to?” Donna replied, avoiding touching on what they are both thinking, she is going to have to pretend to be in love, with a man she actually loves. How she loves him is a different story, she won’t let herself go there, it’s not a road she wants to let herself venture down for fear of what the answer might be.

“It’s just, you once told me that you can never go back, yet somehow you two manage to stay friends and I’m worried if something goes wrong between you two this weekend you really won’t be able to go back” Rachel explained.

“Rachel, nothing is going to go wrong.” She is met with a questioning head tilt from Rachel.

“This is just a friend doing a simple favour for another, end of story” she said defensively.

“Okay Donna, then I really hope it goes well” Rachel sighed.

“Now, back to what I came in here to ask you, red or black dress” Donna continued.

Donna takes a seat on the couch in Harvey’s office and he joins her, handing her a second glass of scotch.

Donna thanks him with a small smile and takes a sip. “Okay what should we start with?” she asks.

“How about, how long have we been together, that seems like a good place to start” Harvey inputs

“To long” Donna quips, only to be met with a playful nudge and a smile from Harvey, who has now slid over and is seated directly beside her on the sofa.

“Okay, ummm 6 months” Donna says

“Why 6 months?” Harvey counters,

“It just seems like a reasonable enough amount of time to introduce me to your family, but not long term enough that they should be surprised to have just found out” she remarks

“6 months it is” he concludes.

They proceed to ask and answer questions that Harvey’s family might ask, and three drinks and a few hours later they are feeling pretty good about themselves. Harvey tells Donna that he will call Ray to give her a ride home and they proceed to quiz each other on their non-existent relationship while they wait. After grabbing their coats and stepping into the elevator, mid giggle fit after over-hearing Louis yelling at his vet over the phone about cutting his cats nails to the wrong length, Harvey can’t remember the last time he’d had such a good time with anyone else. Everything just seemed to come naturally when he was with her. He steals a glance at her as the elevator begins to descend and to his surprise, she catches him. Slightly embarrassed but too tipsy to care, he mumbles and apology as he steps towards her and tucks a lose strand of hair behind her ear, a barely audible “Donna” leaving his lips as he does so. She locks her eyes on his as he does so, and it takes everything in him not to kiss her right then and there. He catches himself and instead after tucking the strand behind her ear he steps back to his place and the elevator reaches the ground floor, diminishing whatever moment they might have been having upon their exit.

They head towards Ray where Harvey opens the door for Donna, a true gentleman, as always. The car ride is quiet, neither of them wanting to address the moment they may or may not have shared in the elevator, and the pending exhaustion from the weekend before them beginning to set in. Harvey sees Donna to her door and wishes her a good night, telling her Ray will be by at 8 to pick her up the next morning. She thanks him for a fun evening, and places the ghost of a kiss on her cheek before heading back to the car. As soon as she opens the door, she sinks against it. If that elevator ride is any indication, she is in for a long weekend, as all she can think about is wanting to kiss Harvey God Damn Specter.


	3. I Told You So - Ch 3

Ch 3 – December 15th

Red. She had settled on packing her red dress after talking with Rachel. It was simple, elegant and perfect for the Christmas themed reception Marcus had planned. She grabbed the garment bag and draped it over her suitcase, so it was ready for when Ray called from downstairs. She yawned, blinking back the sleep in her eyes. She had barely slept last night, replaying that moment in the elevator over and over and trying to convince herself she was reading into it too much. Sure, he had looked at her in THAT way, but she chalked it up to a combination of nerves for their upcoming trip and a large amount of alcohol. Harvey had made it very clear that he didn't want more, and she'd be damned if she let herself be fooled for a second longer. She headed to the kitchen for some much-needed coffee when there is a knock at the door. She opens it to find Harvey with a smile plastered across his face, coffee and sunflowers in hand.

The moment he got back to his apartment last night he had decided, if they were going to 'fake' do this, they were going to 'fake' do it right! So, first thing this morning he headed out to buy her flowers. After 10 minutes of contemplating which type she would like best, he decided on sunflowers because even on the darkest of days, she always seemed to remind him of the sunshine. God, he was getting softer as he gets older, he thinks to himself. But standing at her door, flowers in hand, he knows he made the right choice, as Donna Paulson is actually speechless!

"What are you doing here, I thought Ray was picking me up at 8?"

"He's downstairs, but I wanted to surprise you" he grins handing her the flowers and the coffee

"What are these for?" she blushes

"I figured I should be a good fake boyfriend and start the weekend off right" he chimes, "And I also wanted to thank you for helping me out this weekend"

"They're beautiful, thank you. I'm just going to put them in some water and we can get going" she says as she makes her way towards the kitchen and pulling out a vase. In all the years she's known him she's only ever seen him buy flowers 3 times, and 2 of those times were for her. She smiles to herself, her heart fluttering. Pretend or not, this man has no idea of the effect he has on her.

Harvey grabs her bag and the two of them make their way downstairs towards the car. He opens her door and then slides in after her, bracing himself for the shopping trip to come.

Shopping with Donna was not near as dreadful as he thought it would be. The two of them had a lovely time strolling through department stores while she hunted for the perfect pair of heels and a handbag to go with her dress. Why she needed so many handbags, he'll never understand, but spending time with her outside the office like this was something he always enjoyed. Much like the previous night, conversation flowed freely between them while they chit chatted about everything from her new yoga instructor to his latest case at the firm. He watched her beam with childish pride as she handed over his credit card to the sales lady, telling her not to worry about the price because her hot shot lawyer husband is New York City's best closer. Ha! If only this sales woman knew that Donna was the one-person Harvey couldn't close, despite how badly he wanted to. They played the 'rich husband is treating' game for a few hours until he could no longer carry any more bags and it was time to hit the road and head to his brother's house.

Back at the office Mike is waiting for Rachel at the elevators to join him for lunch. She worked late last night, and he was already asleep when she got home so he hadn't had the chance to tell her about Harvey and Donna's game of pretend. He couldn't understand those two, keeping their feelings bottled up for so many years when they so clearly loved each other. As much as he enjoyed teasing them both about their relationship, he would do anything to see two of his best friends find happiness, like he found with Rachel. He sees her approaching in her trade mark pencil skirt, hair done up in perfect curls, sporting a smile that made him go weak in the knees. God, how did he get so lucky, he thinks to himself. He just hopes that this weekend will do some good for Harvey and Donna, maybe they'll get their shit together and realize what they mean to each other.

He greets Rachel with a kiss on the cheek as she approaches.

"Hey you" she smiles

"Hey yourself, what's got you in such a good mood today?" she asks

"Oh, you know, other than being a kick ass lawyer, I have some news. Harvey took Donna to Marcus' wedding reception this weekend" he grins, unable to contain his joy

She rolls her eyes "I know Donna told me, but why is that such a good thing?"

"Because he's in love with her" Mike added, matter of factly

"How could you possibly know that?" Rachel questions

"Look at the facts!" he exclaims as he starts rambling on about the events of the past few years

"Alright, easy there detective, let's go grab some lunch" And with that Rachel pulls him towards the elevator, smiling to herself knowing very well that Mike is right, and that Donna is in love with Harvey too.

The drive to Marcus's house was peaceful. Christmas was Donna's second favourite holiday (after Halloween) and much to Harvey's dismay she blasted Christmas music the entire time. She got a few eye rolls from him while she belted out some of the holiday classic's, but his smile told her he wasn't as much of a grinch as he led on. They pulled up to Marcus's house in record time and began unloading the suitcases and presents from the car when Marcus spotted them and came out to help.

"Hey Dickhead!" he says to Harvey, pulling him in for a hug

"And you must be Donna" he steps around Harvey, pulling her in for a hug

"It's nice to finally meet you Marcus, Harvey's told me so much about you" she says

"Right back at you, it's nice to finally meet the woman my brothers been going on about for the better part of the last 10 years, she's even prettier then you said Harvey"

Which earns him a smack in the arm from Harvey and a small, slightly embarrassed laugh from Donna.

"Alright, everyone inside is waiting for you two to start lunch," Marcus says as they begin to move towards the house.

Donna and Harvey trail behind Marcus up the front steps and she whispers to him "10 years eh? Been pining for me for that long Specter?"

"Don't let it get to your head" he smirks back, playfully shoving into her side "It's more like 12 years" he winks at her as they enter the house and he turns to great his brother's wife. She's left slightly stunned at his comment; regardless of whether of not he was just teasing her, but quickly recovers and greats Katie with a smile

Lily comes up behind Katie and greets Harvey before spotting Donna.

"And Harvey, who's this?" she asks, obviously pretending that Marcus had not already told her Harvey was bringing her.

"Mom, this is Donna, my ummm girlfriend"

She blushes at the words, damn she has got to get it together if they are going to pull this off. Then again, is she losing her mind or is he flirting with her a lot more than usual? Wasn't the show supposed to just be around his family?

"Lovely to meet you Donna" she says pulling Donna in for a hug.

"Nice to meet you to Lily" Donna smiles.

Harvey takes Donna's hand and leads her into the living room introducing her to his niece and nephew; who were elated that uncle Harvey had managed to stop by for a visit, as well as to a few family friends, and his mother's partner Bobby. Donna squeezed Harvey's hand in reassurance as he made small talk with Bobby about his newest case at the firm.

"Marcus, why don't you show them to the guest room?" Katie offers

"You two take your time settling in and meet us for lunch in the living room, ok?" Katie calls as she heads to set up for lunch.

Harvey goes to grab the bags when he realizes he's still holding her hand. Normally, he would have over-analyzed reaching for her hand in the first place, but sometimes things like this just seemed to come so naturally between them, which was odd considering they often limited the physical contact they made with one another. He reluctantly drops her hand and grabs both of their bags and they follow Marcus towards the guest room. Once Marcus leaves them to settle in, but not after making a snide comment about not taking too long to get settled in, Harvey drops the bags and they sit on opposite ends of the bed in silence. She's the first to break the silence.

"Your family is sweet" she offers with a small smile

"I'm sorry about Marcus, he can be a bit much at times"

"Don't worry about it, besides a girl can never be called pretty too many times in her life, it's always nice to hear" she grins

"You know you are…" he pauses, noticing he has placed a hand on her knee.

She looks down at the hand he has just placed on her leg, trying to ignore the way his touch feels. She looks up, and catches him staring at her, soft features playing across his face. She flinches at his touch, but she doesn't pull away. In fact, she's leaning into him, he's sure of it. He continues,

"so beautiful" he manages, voice just above a whisper.

Before she knows what's happening, she finds herself leaning towards him, her gaze finding his lips before her eyes find his. His other hand comes up to brush her cheek and they are so close she can smell his aftershave. His scent is intoxicating. God, she wants this; remembering how he tasted all those months ago in her office, the feeling of his lips on hers. She closes her eyes in anticipation only to have her thoughts interrupted by Harvey's niece and nephew knocking on the door yelling "LUNCH"

They jolt apart, suddenly very aware of their surroundings. He blushes slightly embarrassed he gave in to his emotions in a moment of weakness. Before he has the chance to say anything, she's throwing on her cream coloured cardigan and opening the door.

"Well common let's not keep your family waiting" she manages to squeak out. She knows she shouldn't let them cross this line, and that this em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"thing/em between them, whatever it is, is likely only there because they are pretending. She can't let herself hope for more, she's been down this road before and it ended with the two of them screaming at each other in the lobby of PSL. She's decided, from this point on she would put on a show for his family, but when the show ended when they went back to work Monday morning, or were behind closed doors.

He takes a second to catch his breath and follows her down the stairs toward the living room, his hand finding the small of her back as they join the family for lunch.

What the hell just happened, she thinks to herself. Little does she know the man next to her is thinking the exact same thing.


	4. I Told You So Chapter 4

Ch 4 – December 15th A Specter Family Lunch

They join the rest of the family at the table and Harvey is seated between Donna and Marcus. Marcus begins lunch with a beautiful toast, thanking the family for being there for him and Katie on their special day and concluding with a heartfelt statement about how much he loves his wife and how he can't believe what a lucky man he is. The speech is so genuine it brings a tear to Donna's eye. Harvey notices and squeezes her hand under the table, throwing a gentle smile her way.

There is a weird déjà vu feeling, both taken back to a time when they stole glances of one another while Louis delivered his speech about Norma.

Don't let the ones you love go by without telling them how you feel, because life slips by and then its over…

He should tell her, he thinks. But expressing his feelings has never been his strong suit and he wouldn't even know where to begin. He can't risk losing her again, she's too important to him.

As expected, Harvey's family has lots of questions for them. How long have they been together? 6 months he tells them. Are there kids in the future? They both blush at the thought and mumble something that resembles "someday." First date? They went to their restaurant, followed by a romantic walk in Central Park. They answer with ease, having anticipated this line of questioning. What they hadn't anticipated was Marcus asking when Harvey had finally manned up and realized he was in love with Donna. Which leads to a shell-shocked pair sitting silently at the table, staring at one another, willing the other to answer. Just as Donna is about to make-up a story that was likely from one of those rom-coms she loves so much, Harvey clears his throat, knowing he is going to need to be the one to answer this.

He stares at his plates and quietly begins,

"I knew Donna was special from the moment I met her. Here was this woman, approaching me in a bar, a complete stranger, asking me if she can come work for me."

He looks at Donna, "You knew exactly what you wanted and you weren't afraid to ask for it, I knew right then and there I needed you in my life."

She's listening intently, lingering on each word, curious to see where he's going with this and wondering how he is managing to come up with such a great story.

He continues, "Then you came with me to the firm and I couldn't have been happier, but things shifted between us" his voice softens a bit. He's to busy looking at her to realize the entire room is hooked on what he's saying. His eyes find hers and hold her gaze. Her eyes are questioning him, and he knows she's wondering where this story is coming from. He smiles at her then, recalling the memory and continues,

"It was a Tuesday. She was sitting at her desk outside my office. She was wearing that green dress she knows I like; even though she pretends she doesn't know it's my favourite (she blushes, not realizing he knew that she knew) She answered the phone as she always did and scribbled something down before going back to organizing file folders on her desk. A typical Tuesday at the office but sitting there watching her work, wondering how anyone could be so perfect, it just hit me. I was in love with her."

He finishes, running out of breath and blushing slightly. She's staring at him intently now, moved by what he has just said. Katie and his mother chime in with a chorus of awe's and Marcus throws in a comment about being whipped. But all he sees is her lips forming a small smile. He's never told her that story, he's never told anyone that story, not even his therapist, and for a moment it surprises him that this is the moment that comes to mind, that it really is the first time he thought he might be in love with her.

For the second time that day she's speechless. She remembers that day because the last time she wore that dress was before the Hessington Oil trial. How could he possibly remember the details of that day. Unless… unless what he is saying is true. For a moment they both seem to forget that they are sitting at a table surrounded by Harvey's family members and she questions "But that was years ago?" He answers not looking away, afraid to break eye contact, "Only took me this long to tell you" Her mind is spinning and she has so many questions, most importantly she wants to know if there is any truth to what he just said. She's about to ask when the sound of Katie's voice tears her away from the moment.

"Well aren't you to just the sweetest things!" she exclaims.

The moment is lost, and she's left with a million unanswered questions. Lunch finishes up; everyone moving back to smaller, less significant conversations and Lily asks Katie and Donna to help her prepare dessert in the kitchen. As she heads to the kitchen, Harvey gets up to help Marcus clear the plates. He catches her in the doorway before she leaves and whispers, "We did it, we survived family lunch" and she can't help but giggle at how childish he can be.

"Gotta play by the rules love birds" Marcus calls pointing to a piece of mistletoe above their heads.

"Common Marcus, what are we teenagers?" Harvey challenges

"I don't make the rules, I just enforce them" Marcus grins

He looks at Donna and she gives him a small wink and a nod, she knew what she signed up for when she agreed to coming this weekend.

He steps towards her, her back against the door frame, so that his hand rests against the frame beside her head. He slides his other hand along her cheek and up towards her ear and in an instant his lips are on hers. He's suddenly following her lead and he finds himself deepening the kiss, his tongue seeking out hers (rather then the innocent peck he intended to give her.) Her hands snake there way up through his hair and he tugs on her bottom lip, pushing her further against the wall, willing his body to get as close to hers as the layers of clothing between them will allow. Kissing her is better then he remembered it being, if that was even possible. It was as though all the tension that built up between them throughout the years had made this kiss worth the wait. She may claim she felt nothing the last time she kissed him, but he knows she feels this. They pull apart for air, noses resting against eachother, when Marcus clears his throat.

"Way to keep it PG uncle Harvey" Marcus teases as Harvey's niece and nephew cover their eyes and utter a few 'eww cooties' before running off to play.

Donna blushes, embarrassed to be caught making out with her former-boss turned fake boyfriend in front of his family.

"I'd say more grandkids are on your near future mom, seeing as Harvey can barely keep his hands to himself" Marcus chuckles looking down to see Harvey's arm still wrapped around Donna's waist.

Harvey follows his stare and let's his hand fall, slightly embarrassed to let himself get so carried away with her in front of his family, but still beaming from that kiss enough not to care.

"Oh hush" Katie says to Marcus, "They're in love let them be" sending a smile in her brother-in-law's direction.

He notices Donna is still quiet and can't tell if that kiss affected her like it did him, or if she is so mortified about swapping spit in front of his mother that she doesn't know what to say; a rare occurrence for her that seemed to be happening more and more lately.

"Would you excuse us, I'm going to give Donna a tour of the rest of the house before dessert" he says, leading her out of the room and down the hall.

The pair head outside and stand on the porch. The fresh air doing them both some good. Neither one of them wants to speak first. She figures she might as well start.

"What you said at lunch, that was part of the charade right?"

He avoids her gaze, "You tell me"

She's frustrated, and tired of playing this game with him. She wants answers.

"NO HARVEY, you just told a room full of people about the time you first knew you loved me, and we both know you didn't pull that story out of a hat!"

"Donna you know that I love you"

And they are back to square one. A place that took them years to come back from, but she doesn't care she needs to know.

"Love me how?"

"Donna, we can't do this here" he says, beginning to pace back and forth across the porch.

"No Harvey, you can't do this ever! You're so afraid of losing me that you're afraid to risk anything at all!" she yells "You have no problem flirting with me but when the moment becomes too real you shut me out!"

"Oh, I'm afraid?! If you're so willing to risk everything then tell me this, did you feel anything when you kissed me that night in your office? Because you can't tell me you didn't feel anything this time!" he challenges

She looks away, unable to answer with what he wants to here; with the truth.

"That's what I thought" he says

They stand in silence for a few moments, neither one knowing what to say next.

"Donna"

"Look Harvey, we've had a long day and that was a lot to deal with in there, let's just forget I even brought it up" she looks defeated.

"But Donna, what if I don't want to forget? That story, that Tuesday, I couldn't make that up if I tried. And I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to kiss you again…"

He steps closer to her and runs his hands gently down her arms, sliding his fingers between hers. She looks up at him questioningly to find him staring at her in a way that makes her heart flutter.

He knows this is his chance to finally tell her what he's been bottling up for years. He can either speak up now or risk losing her for good.

"You want to know how I love you? I…"

"There you two are! Oh sorry, I hope I'm not interrupting, the kids wanted to know if you wanted to join our game of charades before we start the bachelor/bachelorette events" Lily says.

But before either of them has a chance to reply the two smallest Specter's are grabbing their hands and dragging them towards the living room for a game of charades.

Harvey sends Donna a smile from where he's seated across the room. He just can't catch a break on this damn trip! He decides that after Marcus' bachelor party (who needs a second bachelor party for a second wedding anyways?) he was going to tell her what he should have told her years ago.

Because who doesn't love a good Darvey fight! This was insanely fun to write and I'd love to hear more about what you guys think!


	5. I Told You So Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! So this ones a little bit longer and I hope you enjoy!!! – Sarah

Ch 5. All's fair in love, war and bachelorette parties – Dec 15th

The family games seemed to drag on as neither Harvey or Donna could focus, minds wandering to their interrupted conversation from earlier. He hoped they would have a chance to talk when the game was over, but Marcus had him putting his jacket on to leave for the bar almost immediately when the game ended, claiming they would miss the reservation if they didn't hurry. He grabs Donna as Marcus ushers him towards the door and whispers "We'll talk later ok?"

"Okay" she smiles, "Now enjoy boys' night, try not to get too wild" she winks

"I could say the same to you ladies" he counters

"I promise I won't let her get too wild without you Harv" Katie calls, already slightly wine drunk and grabbing Donna leading her to the living room where her bachelorette party would be held. Donna throws a reassuring smile over her shoulder, letting Harvey know she can handle a simple girl's night, and with that he heads out to meet Marcus at the car.

Katie's bachelorette party consisted of wine, chocolate and rom-coms, an idealistic night when you've already been married. Donna was fitting in perfectly with Katie's two sisters and even got along with Harvey's mother. The ladies spent the evening chatting about there favourite boutiques while watching "Shall We Dance" and discussing how Richard Gere was such a silver fox. Donna found herself having a great time and she hadn't thought of work, or Harvey for hours; which was a first. The night was winding down and the movie coming to an end when Katie sighed taking in how the dancers glided across the screen and complained that Marcus didn't like to dance so romantically in public settings. The other girls chimed in, agreeing that their partners either couldn't dance, or didn't like to, all the while Donna sat quietly sipping her wine. "How about you Donna? Does Harvey dance?" one asked.

She thinks back to Mike and Rachel's wedding. The way he held her close, his hand ghosting across her back until stopping to rest on her waist. The way his breath tickled her ear as he whispered how beautiful she looked. The way he refused to let her go, long after the music had stopped, and people begun to leave the dance floor.

"He's a wonderful dancer" she smiles

"I have to say Donna, I've never seen him so happy, or so in love" Katie grins, "I'm so glad that you two found each other"

Donna blushes unable to control the excitement she feels at the statement. After everything that had happened in the last 24 hours she was starting to question whether Harvey was lying when he said he didn't want more. The mere thought sent shivers down her spine. Maybe this weekend wasn't as much of a charade as she thought. She had decided after that moment on the porch she was going to tell him how she feels. She was going to risk it all, for fear that if she didn't, she would lose everything that mattered to her.

"You guys have known each other for quite some time" Lily remarks, "Gordon used to go on and on about you and how Harvey had no idea what he was missing out on. I see why he was such a fan."

"I was a fan of his too" Donna smiles at the memory of Harveys father, she always did have a soft spot for the man.

"I'm glad you too finally figured it out" Lily says. "Tell me, when did you know dear?"

Donna looks puzzled, "What do you mean?"

"Know you were in love with him of course" Lily responds. This has the attention of all the girls in the room, all eager to know when Donna decided Harvey was "the one". Donna blushes yet again and mumbles, "Oh, I'm not really sure"

"Oh, commmonnn Donna, he told us that beautiful story! Just tell us girls, it'll be our little secret!" Katie exclaims, the wine drunk clearly starting to show.

Donna sighs, knowing the girls won't stop asking until she concedes. "Alright, alright" she starts, taking a sip of her wine and looking around at the girls seated beside her on the couch. "Harvey and I had been working in the DA's office together for a few years. His boss, Cameron Dennis asked him to cover up something illegal and I told him I wouldn't stand by and watch him do it. So, I quit"

All eyes were on her now, she continues "Harvey showed up at my apartment later that day to tell me that he quit because he didn't want to compromise what he stood for. When I told him I had already quit his first reaction was to panic about not being able to find me another job. It was the first time I realized how much he truly cared about me, and I just sort've knew that I loved him for the man that he was." Plus when he kissed me afterwards I just about melted into a puddle, she thinks to herself, smiling at the memory of the other time and his complete obliviousness to how special that moment before he came inside really was to her. She's met with a chorus of awe's before the ladies go back to talking about the movie, seemingly satisfied with Donna's story.

She finishes her glass and excuses herself, claiming she's tired from the trip and should get to bed. Once upstairs she heads to the washroom to freshen up before bed, letting the days events wash over her. Maybe he loved her, maybe he didn't. She was riddled with anticipation, dying to find out. She's heads to the bedroom, exhausted from overthinking and ready to climb under the covers and pass out. She opens the door to find Harvey, sitting in bed, glasses on, typing away on his laptop. How long had he been here? She hadn't even heard him come home.

"Girls night over already?" he asks

"What are you doing back so early?" she questions, heading to her suitcase to grab her pajamas in attempt to hide her surprise.

"Marcus and I decided to call it a night, he said I seemed a little…. distracted" he admits

"Is that so?" she asks

"It is" he says, shutting his laptop and climbing out of bed, rounding it until he's standing in front of her.

"Did you have a nice night?" he asks

"I did, it was nice getting to know them all a little bit better" she comments

"What kind of things did you girls talk about?" he prods

"Oh, you know, just girl stuff, wine, dancing, the usual" she places her pajamas down on the bed beside her

"Nothing else?" he tries again, stepping closer to her

"Nope" she says firmly, wondering if he happened to get back early enough to overhear what was going on in the living room, "When exactly did you get back?" she adds

"Oh, somewhere between truly cared about me and loved him for the man he is" he grins, taking another step towards her.

"Oh... ya… well, I had to give them what they wanted to hear" she tries to recover. Would she have said all that if she knew he was listening? Probably not. Then again, she thought, she got off easy, only having to tell her story to Lily and Katie, while Harvey had the spotlight shone on him in front of everyone. Maybe it was a good thing he overheard her, she doubts she could bring herself to confess what she was feeling that night to his face.

"And that was part of the charade, right?" he asks mocking her question from earlier

"What do you think" she throws back, taking them back to their conversation on the porch. Except this time, it's different. They aren't challenging each other, but rather he is standing so close to her she can practically hear his heartbeat. His hands find their place on her waist, his eyes meet hers and the flakes of gold in his otherwise hazel eyes light up. Her pulse is racing, she tilts her head, questioningly, barely able to catch her breath. He presses his lips to her ear, hands finding there way from her waist down her arms, tracing small patterns until he reaches her fingers and slides his between them.

He whispers in her ear, "You want to know how I love you Donna…"

She can't move. Can't think. Can't breathe. His hushed tone riddling her body with goosebumps.

"This is how"

And he kisses her with everything that he has; and this kiss is everything. His hands are in her hair. His tongue seeking out hers in some form of passionate tango. She wraps her hands around his neck and urges him to kiss her deeper. He picks her up as she moans into the kiss, her legs wrapping around his waist. He breaks the kiss to trial sloppy kisses down her neck and across her collar bone as he walks her backwards towards the wall. He pins her against there, keeping her legs around his waist and his lips find hers again, meeting and matching her hunger for more. He kisses her deeper, never wanting the taste of her to leave his lips. She feels him now, moving against her center and it's enough to drive her wild. There is an urgency to the way he kisses her, yet it is slow, tender. His hands find there way under her top, unhooking her bra and lifting her shirt over her head. She follows suit and unbuttons his shirt as he spins her around and carries her towards the bed.

Both of them know they should talk about this, about what they are before they cross the line, but after 13 years of pining after one another neither of them are about to interrupt this moment.

They come undone together and it's better than either of them remembered. If she's being honest, she can't remember having better sex. They are lying face to face wrapped in the sheets, Harvey playing with one of the curls of red hair hanging above Donna's shoulder. She smiles over at him, her fingers tracing a line up his bicep as she closes her eyes. He can't remember a time when he ever felt this happy, he thinks to himself as he looks at the beautiful woman lying next to him. He can't fathom how it's taken them so long to get here. As much as he wishes he had figured things out sooner, he is incredibly grateful for the friendship they have developed as a result of her rule. Who knows, if they had tried this years ago one of them would've found a way to mess it up, and the mere thought is enough to break his heart. She smiles at him and he'd know that look anywhere, "What's going through that pretty little head of yours?" he asks

"I was just wondering.. it's nothing we can talk about it later" she says, not wanting to break the little bubble they seem to have found themselves in.

"Wondering where this leaves us?" he asks

God. When did he become so emotionally available? She finds herself thinking. Maybe he is finally ready for this. She nods.

"It leaves us wherever you want to be Donna. I think I've made it clear that I love you, I'm in love with you" he pauses, realizing that is the first time he has said he's in love with her out loud.

"I'm in love with you too" she whispers. He can't contain his grin and he pulls her in for a kiss. Pulling away he whispers, "Well then I think that's where this leaves us, as Harvey and Donna" he says

"Harvey and Donna" she echoes as he pulls her in for another kiss.


	6. I Told You So Chapter 6

Ch 6. Wedding Bell Blues – December 16th

Donna wakes up to the sunlight streaming in from across the room. It takes her a moment to shake off the sleepiness and she smiles as she notices Harvey curled into her side, hand draped across her. For a moment she wasn't sure if she had dreamt of the events of last night, they seemed to good to be true, but seeing him cuddled into her side it all comes back to her, he told her he loved her; and it was about damn time!

She grabs her phone from the nightstand, careful not to wake Harvey as she checks her messages from the day before. She has two texts: Mike and Rachel. Those two were so nosy, she thinks to herself, smiling because at least she knows they both mean well.

She opens Rachel's text first

Hope the trip is going well, Michelle Ross would love to go for drinks with Harriet Specter when you get back

Xx Rachel

She smiles and types a quick response telling Rachel she would love to get drinks next week. She opens the text from Mike.

It's never too late to tell him how you feel. Just make sure you guys are safe😉

Mike

She chuckles, leave it to that damn kid to be so sweet yet so immature. He really was a mini Harvey.

Harvey starts to wake up, looking over to see Donna looking puzzled. He reaches for her hand,  
"Good morning" he grins  
"Good morning" she smiles, putting her phone down and turning to face him.

"Last night was…" he remarks, grin spreading even further as places a soft kiss on her cheek. He doesn't need to finish the sentence, they both know. Long-awaited. Passionate. Amazing.

She blushes slightly taking it all in once again. Here she is waking up next to a man she has loved for years and he's looking at her in a way that makes her feel like she is the only girl in the world. How she got so lucky? She'll never understand, but for now this was all she wanted, lazy mornings and stolen kisses in their little bubble, just Harvey and Donna. Which leads her to the question she's been dying to ask him all morning.  
"Are we going to tell people? At the office I mean?" she asks

"Do you not want to tell people?" he asks, panic flashing across his face and she immediately regrets making him think she might not want this.

"I don't mean I don't want people to know, I just think it might be nice to keep it between us while we, you know figure THIS out" she gestures between them.

"Alright, if that's what you want it's our little secret" he winks, pulling her beneath him and making her giggle as he kisses down her neck.

"We should shower and get ready for the wedding" she sighs

"You're right, we should" he swoons, scooping her up and carrying her towards the bathroom as she continues to laugh; slightly at how ridiculously charming he is being and partly at the irony of this weekend. She wonders if his family will be able to see the shift in the dynamic between them, she doubts it. He's been acting head over heels for her since the minute they got here, and she suspects bringing her here was part of his plan to tell her how he felt about her all along. She shuts the bathroom door as he places her down and begins to lead her towards the shower and the two head to get ready for Marcus's wedding.

It's early Saturday morning and Mike and Rachel are sitting in his office going through case files when Louis knocks. He smiles and comes in, taking a seat across from them on the couch.

"Hey Louis, what can we do for you?" Rachel asks

"I actually have a rather important question I want to ask you two" he says

"Alright" Mike says cautiously. You never know where Louis was going with this kind of statement and the last thing he needed right now was to be roped into going mudding with the man, again!

"I was wondering if you two would like to join Shelia and I for a small New Years Eve party. Nothing big, black tie of course and just some cocktails and caviar, perhaps a string quartet" he beams

"That is exactly what I picture when I think low key Louis" Mike teases

"We would love to join you" Rachel jumps in, pretending she can't see the glare Mike is sending her way

"Perfect! I'll forward you the details" Louis says getting up to leave

"Oh, do you know if Harvey is seeing anyone? I was going to invite him and Donna but I need to know if he'll be bringing a plus one" he adds

Mike can't help but chuckle and Rachel once again comes to the rescue answering Louis, "I don't think he'll need a plus one this year Louis" she smiles.

"Perfect" and with that he's headed down the hall towards his office to start planning.

Mike glares at Rachel, "Why did you say we would go to that?"

"Oh common Mike, he was excited. Besides it could be fun, spending time with friends"

"Ya, as long as Harvey and Donna are still friends after this weekend" Mike remarks

"You know them, I'm sure everything will be exactly the same when they get back Monday"

She puts on a final coat of red lipstick and looks in the mirror, satisfied with how her hair turned out after having minimal time to get ready (damn Harvey and that shower taking up most of her morning!) Harvey had already headed to the hall with Marcus to make sure everything was in order and she was meeting him there in an hour. She takes a final look in the mirror, admiring her red silk dress. It was simple and understated but it drew attention to all the right places. With it's bear back and slit running up the left leg she couldn't wait for Harvey to see her in it. She still hadn't adjusted to the fact that this time, when he saw her in this dress, he could kiss her and tell her how beautiful she looked without there being any hidden innuendos or double meaning behind his words. They were Harvey and Donna and she could kiss him just because she felt like it. It was about time they got here, it just felt right.

He's been at the hall helping Marcus set up for the last hour, but his mind is elsewhere. Reliving last night over and over again, a combination of trying to convince himself this was really happening and craving the feeling of her lips on his. God, he couldn't wait for her to get here, no doubt wearing something incredible he would likely day dream about taking off during the entire ceremony. He was in so deep, he was in trouble.

"Earth to Harvey" Marcus calls

"Sorry Marcus, what is it?" he asks

"I just asked if you and Donna will be joining us for Christmas this year?" his brother asks

He hadn't even thought about his family expecting him to bring Donna to Christmas when he asked her to pretend this weekend. Now that they were together, he can't think of a reason why they wouldn't join his family. Unless, maybe that would be moving too fast for her? Would she want to spend the holidays with his family when he had literally only told her he loved her less then 24 hours ago? Maybe he should wait to ask her, he thinks, the last thing he wants is for them to rush into things and to lose her.

"I'll have to ask her Marcus but I don't see why we can't" he lies

"I'm sure the kids will be ecstatic to have uncle Harvey and aunt Donna around" Marcus grins, noting the slightly panicked look on his brother's face; likely from his fear of commitment, he decided to add insult to injury.

"Speaking of aunt Donna" Marcus continues, "Any plans on making it official any time soon?" Marcus asks

"I don't know about soon, but one day I'd love to be here with her someday, walking down the aisle arm in arm" he smiles

"I'm proud of you man, I didn't think you had it in you to settle down, I'm really happy for you guys" Marcus says, slightly surprised at Harvey's genuine answer. Maybe his brother wasn't as afraid of commitment as he led on after all.

"Thanks Marcus" Harvey says bringing his little brother in for a hug.

The wedding ceremony is small but beautiful and even includes a sweet little speech from Marcus's kids. Harvey didn't get to sit with Donna since he had to stand and perform his best man duties, but as he predicted he couldn't take his eyes off her. She was wearing the most stunning red dress he had ever seen. He catches her eyeing him from her seat and winks at her, causing her to blush and look away. She looks back at him adoringly, taking in how incredibly handsome he is in his grey Tom Ford suit, holding his nieces' hand as the ceremony comes to an end.

She finds him near the bar after everyone has headed off to find there assigned table.

"What does a girl have to do around here for a drink?" she teases coming up behind him.

He hands her a glass of white wine and smiles, "You look incredible" he places a kiss on her cheek

The MC asks everyone to find their seats and he follows behind her, hand resting on the small of her back as she heads towards the table. Dinner is pleasant, filled with small talk and laughter. She rests a hand on his thigh under the table, gently tracing circles as the two of them talk to Lily's sisters about a new client at the firm. Marcus comes around to their side of the table and whispers in Donna's ear, she grins at what he has to say.

"What was that about?" Harvey asks, turning back to her leaving his previous conversation.

"Oh, Marcus just wanted to let me know he would love to have us for Christmas dinner, he said something about you avoiding asking me so you won't have to go" she says

"That bastard!" Harvey exclaims

"For the record, I was going to ask you if you wanted to go, since we're you know…" he says

"Hmm too bad you didn't ask, I might've had to say yes" she teases

"And if I ask now?" he challenges

"Guess you'll have to try your luck and find out" she flirts

"Look, I know this seems fast and I didn't want to scare you by asking prematurely, but will you come to Christmas dinner? My family already thinks we've been together for a while and when has been doing things normal ever been our thing?"he rambles nervously.

The cautiousness lining his voice is one of the things she loves about him. He may be New York City's best closer, but he shows his vulnerable side to her, and she loved that he shared that part of him with her.

"I would love to" she responds. Maybe he has a point, are we rushing into this? She thinks to herself. I mean here they were sitting at his brother's wedding, but this started under false pretenses, they only just talked about their feelings last night, and it took them the better part of a decade to get to that point! What if this was too fast? What if he didn't really want this. Harvey might not be the only one who is terrified of losing something and she's just now realizing that she has been just as afraid of risking anything over the years. She tries not to let herself panic but she can't help but wonder, what if we get back to the office Monday morning and he changes his mind. What if they can't make it work and she loses everything?

"Perfect, because I already told Marcus we would be there" he adds

Fate Don't Know You Like I Do begins playing and Harvey looks over at her, mid conversation with Katie. He stands up and immediately misses her touch, but lightly taps her on the shoulder. She turns and smiles a him.

"Can I have this dance?" he asks, taking her hand and leading her towards the dance floor.

He holds her close and whispers how wonderful she looks for the millionth time. She smiles but he notices she seems distracted. "What's wrong Donna?" he asks

"Nothing it's just… this is a lot … I'm just overwhelmed" she says as he sways her along with the music.

"We don't have to spend Christmas here, if it's too much for you. I'll just say something came up at the firm" he tries to reassure her. He can tell that something else is bothering her, after years of working so closely he knows when she's keeping something from him.

"Are you going to tell me what's really on your mind?" he asks gently

She lifts her head to meet his gaze and he sees the tears forming at the corner of her eyes, he stops swaying them for a moment, giving her his full attention. She chokes out a soft, "What if we get back to the office and Monday and realize this was a huge mistake?"

He's slightly shocked by her confession and doesn't know what to say. He pauses,

"Do you think this was a mistake?" he asks. He absentmindedly holds his breathe as he waits for her response, knowing full well that if she thinks it was, she'll shatter his heart into a million pieces.

The two of them are standing still in the middle of the dance floor no longer touching and he has to remind himself to breathe before he begins to panic as he waits for her to answer.

"No Harvey, I'm just terrified I'll mess this up and I'll lose you!" she exclaims, louder then she intended

"You don't think I'm scared?!" he challenges back, "You don't think my fear of losing you has ANYTHING to do with why it took me so long to know how I love you?! I was petrified of crossing that line with you, worried that we wouldn't be able to go back, but we did cross it and I'm so glad we did! If you don't think what we have is worth the risk then maybe we shouldn't have, but if you believe even the tiniest bit that were meant to be together then damn it Donna I will still want this on Monday morning, and Tuesday morning, every god damn morning. You're scared that you'll mess this up? Well I'm afraid that I will, or that one day you'll wake up and realize that I don't deserve you."

She interrupts him, touching his arm and stepping towards him, "Harvey"

He looks down at her, slightly breathless from his rant. She continues, "What about Wednesday morning?" she flirts, a grin appearing on her face. She appears more relaxed and he's grateful that he's somehow managed to reassure her that he isn't going anywhere, he can tell by the look in her eye that even though she's just as, if not slightly more terrified than he is, she isn't going anywhere either. He's slightly shocked that much like his fear of losing her, her fear of losing him kept her from acting on her feelings for all those years. He leans in and places a gentle kiss on her lips taking her back into his arms and mumbles,

"I will want this Wednesday morning" followed by another kiss, "and Thursday morning" .. "and Friday morning" he mumbles between kisses, causing her to laugh as he twirled her back into his arms.

December 17th

The rest of the weekend goes by rather quickly, most of the family is tired from the reception and Harvey spends Sunday morning showing Donna around town. They are both so exhausted that when Sunday afternoon rolls around they are more than excited to head home. After loading all the bags into the car, they say goodbye to his family, telling them they would see them soon for Christmas dinner. After their little meltdown at the wedding they had decided that if they were going to do this, they were going to commit to it and Donna had agreed to spend the holidays with the Specter's. Plus she loved watching him interact with his niece and nephew so much she wasn't about to pass up on an opportunity to watch him spoil them.

Donna slept for most of the car ride back and she was surprised to find that when Harvey woke her to tell her they were home, they were parked outside of his apartment building. She eyed him curiously.

"What?" he shrugs innocently

"I just figured maybe you'd want to spend the night" his trade mark smile forming on his lips

"I thought we weren't going to tell anyone at the office yet? What will people think when we show up at work together tomorrow?" she asks

"It's a good thing I've arranged for Ray to take you home before work in the morning then" he grins

She smiles at him, making her way through the lobby doors. His phone buzzes and he pulls it out to see a message from Louis, inviting him to a new years party. Great, he thinks, that's exactly how he wants to spend his new years eve. It's bad enough he must attend the office Christmas Gala this week, but he was looking forward to spending New Years with Donna, not with a bunch of colleagues who were finally starting to believe he and Donna were just friends; after they worked so hard to convince them (and themselves) that's all they were for so many years.

"You coming, Specter?" she calls

He smiles and drops his phone back into his pocket, making his way inside. He supposes they can deal with Louis's party when the time comes. First things first, tomorrow they were going back to work, and they were going to have to play a whole new game of pretend, the same type they've been playing for years; they were going to convince everyone they were friends, JUST friends. Most people wouldn't know well enough to even question it – not knowing about their little family vacation. Mike and Rachel however, were going to want to know how the trip was, and they were going to have to put on their best show to convince them that his family bought that Donna was his girlfriend, yet nothing else happened and he and Donna were back to normal. Ha!


	7. I Told You Chapter 7

Ch 7. December 17th – Monday Mornings at PSL

"Two people have to want to be together to happy, and Harvey and I don't want to be together" echoed through her head  
"Donna, I want to be together"

No Harvey, you have everything!  
Are you saying you want everything?

You and Stephen, it bothers me

Just because it bothers me, it doesn't mean…

She wakes up to the smell of coffee and it takes a minute for her eyes to adjust. She looks around sleepily, remembering she's in his apartment. She was having the weirdest dream where he told her he wanted to be together, but her mind continued to race back to all those times they pushed each other away. She's so caught up in her thoughts about her dream that she barely notices that the spot beside her in bed is empty. She looks around and spots his white dress shirt from the night before on the floor beside the bed. She quickly slips it on and makes her way to the kitchen, spotting him flipping pancakes, wearing sweat pants and a v-neck. She doesn't see him in casual clothes often, so she takes a moment to take him in, his shirt wrinkled, hair a mess, an un-made version of Harvey Specter, she thinks to herself smiling.

He hears her moving and turns around, happily surprised to find her wearing his shirt.

"Good morning" he says, planting a kiss on her forehead as she takes a seat at the counter.

"Pancakes?" he asks

"Since when do you cook?" she teases, grabbing a pancake off the plate and drowning it in syrup

"There's a lot you don't know about me" he flirts. He doubts that; she is Donna after all, but he likes to believe he can still surprise her.

"A man full of surprises" she giggles as he leans over the counter to kiss her.

"So, Ray will take you back to your place whenever you're ready, and I was hoping I could take you for dinner tonight?" he asks. With their complicated history he never got to take her on a proper date before they started their relationship, and he'd be damned if he didn't get to take her out for a proper meal.  
"Pick me up at 8?" she smiles  
"8 it is" he grins

Once back at her apartment she changes into a navy blue v-neck dress with ¾ sleeves and a pair of silver heels. She grabs her newest Hermes bag and puts a few curls into place before heading out the door for work. She doesn't bother to unpack her bag from the weekend, as she has a meeting at 9 and it's coming up on 8:15 already and she wants to stop and grab coffee for her and Harvey; time had slipped away from them this morning and they hadn't had time for any. She gets to the office in record time and makes her way to Harvey's office, coffee in hand. She's about to enter and make a flirtatious remark about how they really should use their time more wisely when she stops herself, noticing Mike sitting across from Harvey on one of the couches.

She recovers quickly with a brief, "Good morning Harvey, Mike" and hands him the coffee. His fingers linger for a moment when they brush hers as he takes the cup and he sends her a knowing smile. Mike coughs and interrupts their little moment.

Mike, picking up on the tension in the room pipes up, "How was your weekend, Mrs. Specter?" he teases

Harvey nearly spits out his coffee and Donna blushes. If only Mike knew, the teasing would never end!

"It's hard enough to put up with Harvey at the office I can't imagine having to pretend to be his girlfriend" Mike adds

"Well I did study to be an actress for years" Donna laughs

"Must've really needed those acting skills this weekend" Mike laughs, patting Harvey on the shoulder before heading towards the door of his office. He adds, "It went well tho?"

"They bought it" Harvey remarks

"I can't imagine why" Mike grins, clearly playing at the fact that most people at the office had a hard time believing Harvey and Donna were only ever just friends.

"Well I'm just glad Donna was able to put up with your shit for 3 whole days, did he play old man music the whole car ride up there?" Mike chuckles as he leaves the office leaving the two of them alone.

"Thank you for the coffee" he smiles, briefly reaching out to touch her arm. She shivers at his touch.

"Anytime" she whispers as she heads to her office to begin her day.

This was going to be harder than they thought.

Rachel comes by shortly after 6:30 to ask about the trip. Shutting the office door behind her she takes a seat

"Sooo Donnaa, how was your weekend" she pries

"It was good" Donna says not looking up from what she's typing. She can feel Rachel staring at her, waiting for more.

"It was really good" she smiles, stopping what she's doing to look over at her best friend who was staring back with eager eyes, wanting to know everything.  
"Anything eventful happen?" she coos

"I'd say an entire weekend pretending to be Harvey's girlfriend is pretty eventful"

"You know what I mean!" Rachel exclaims "Are you two still… good… after this weekend?"

"Harvey and I are perfectly fine Rachel, we can basically pretend it never even happened" Donna says, rather convincingly

"Oh Donna I'm so glad! I was so worried this weekend would cause some old feelings to resurface between you two"

"I think it's safe to assume that Harvey and I are in a good place" she smiles

"Mike will be relieved, he was so worried you two would go back to fighting if something went wrong and we would be stuck spending new years with just Louis and Shelia."

"Looks like you're stuck with me too" she smiles

"And Harvey" Rachel adds. Donna hadn't been thinking when she absentmindedly told Louis she could attend his party when he ambushed her with the invite early in the day. She wanted to spend the new year with Harvey, preferably just the two of them alone in his apartment with some wine, but she was stuck going to this party unless she could come up with a good excuse. But if Harvey had agreed to go maybe he wanted to spend the holiday with friends. It made her feel better knowing they would still be spending the night together, just in a less intimate setting than she'd hoped for.

Harvey was surprised to hear Louis say that Donna was coming, so he agreed to go, assuming she wanted to spend the holiday with friends. They would just have to celebrate on their own another time.

"How was meeting the family?" Rachel asks

Donna gestures towards the scotch on her desks and pours them each a glass when Rachel nods.

"It was actually really nice to get to see the family side of him, they adore him" Donna muses

"And pretending to be his girlfriend was? On a scale of 1 to Louis madly in love, how couple-y did you guys have to act?" she asks

She decides to give her best friend a little bit of the good details, after all not everything was a secret, and if she couldn't be excited with Rachel then who could she be excited with?

"Believe it or not he was quite the romantic! I didn't think he would be a fan of the PDA, especially in front of the family but he put on quite the show" Donna says, telling her friend exactly what she knows she wants to hear.

"PDA with Harvey Specter, you've got to give me more then that!" Rachel squeals

"I don't kiss and tell" Donna winks

"NOO" Rachel squeals again. In all the excitement she almost forgot that her best friend pretending to date Harvey in front of his family would likely involve doing things actual couples do.

"Was that weird for you guys? After everything you've been through?" she questions, referring to the kiss Donna previously eluded to.

"It's only weird if it means something to one of you, and Harvey and I don't want to be together, so it didn't mean anything" she lies, thinking about that kiss under the mistletoe, she could still fell that kiss in her toes.

"Oh my god! I can't believe that you guys can go from having a romantic… a fake romantic" she corrects herself, "weekend like that and then just go back to normal" Rachel says

"That's what Harvey and I do" Donna smiles and they sit and finish the rest of their drinks while she tells Rachel about how beautiful the wedding was. She even gives in a little bit and answers one of Rachel's questions, confirming that Harvey is a good kisser. They decide to go for drinks and get ready together before the firm's Christmas gala on Wednesday before Rachel heads out to meet Mike for the evening.

At 7:45 there's a knock on her office door. She looks up to see Harvey standing there sporting his trademark grin. "Ready to go?" he asks

He loves watching her work, he always has. He's saddened a little when she puts her pen down and moves to grab her coat. Watching her work reminds him of those years she sat outside of his office and of how far she's come since they started working together all those years ago. He admires her work ethic and drive immensely. They make there way to the elevators and he notices she's changed into a black dress that he's never seen before. How she always managed to look so put together after a days work blows his mind. While waiting for an elevator he asks,

"So, you're going to Louis and Shelia's new years eve party?"

She turns to face him, trying to read him but she's unable to "I'm so sorry Harvey! He asked and I panicked and said I could make it! I didn't even think about what it would mean for us" she apologizes

"Oh, thank god!" he looks relieved, "I thought you actually wanted to go"

"Well I do want to go, but I would much rather spend the night with you" she whispers

"Well you will be spending the night with me, and Louis and Shelia and Mike…." he mocks

"Why did you tell him you would go?" she asks

"Because he told me" he pauses and steps toward her, whispering the next part so only she can hear it "my girlfriend, was going" and he steps back

Did he just ..?! She freezes and tries to tell herself to say something, but she's taken aback hearing the word girlfriend come out of his mouth as a word used to describe her.

"Girlfriend?" she whispers back

"If that's okay with you?" he smiles

"I think I'd be okay with that" she smiles back.

Their moment is interrupted by the sound of Louis scurrying down the hallway.

"There you two are! I just wanted to confirm neither of you need a plus one for the party?" he exclaims

"I can see why you'd think I'd need one Louis, but this year it'll just be me" Harvey tells him, side-eyeing Donna

Donna takes advantage of the potential to make Harvey squirm and takes her time answering.

"Hmmm, let me see" she begins

"You didn't tell me there's a new man in your life!" Louis chimes in,

"What's he like? If he hurts you I'll kill him!" Louis threatens. Louis sees the look on her face, slightly amused and slightly taking his words to heart and continues,

"Oh my god you do have a new man in your life! I see that glow all over your face now! Are you going to bring him?"

Harvey tries not to blush at Louis' accusation, but Donna having grown accustomed to Louis' antics, just smiles and humors Louis.

"You know Louis, it's still pretty new, I don't think he'll be joining us this time" she says, receiving a subtle nudge from Harvey that Louis misses.

"Alright, well I hope he knows what a lucky man he is!" Louis calls as he walks away

"Oh, I'm sure he knows!" Harvey jumps in, causing Donna to have to suppress a laugh.

They get into the elevator (that had finally arrived) and start laughing, unable to hold it back any longer.

"So, I guess we're going to Louis' party?" he asks

"It looks like we don't really have any other choice" she says

"We'll just have to celebrate on our own some other time" he smiles devilishly at her

"What did you have in mind, Mr. Specter?" she flirts

"I'll tell you all about it over dinner" he says as they step out of the elevator and head towards the car.


	8. I Told You So Chapter 8

Ch 8 – December 17th – Dinner for Two

He surprises her with a private candle light dinner at her favourite restaurant. She can't believe he did all of this on such short notice. They have a private booth in the corner of the restaurant, and getting a reservation here usually takes weeks; unless you name drop using his name of course. He raises his glass to hers for a toast,

"Here's to finally making it here" he smiles

"To finally making it here" she clinks her glass against his, "It only took us 13 years" she remarks

"It was worth the wait" he breathes, causing her smile to grow up towards her ears.

"So, what's Christmas like with your family?" she asks, curious as to how different the Specter family Christmas was from her own family's traditions. This year her family couldn't get to together for Christmas, everyone being preoccupied with work or kids they just couldn't find the time. She was glad to be visiting Harvey's family, because she was absolutely dreading spending the holiday alone. She supposes some things just work themselves out sometimes.

"I… I'm not too sure" he admits. She throws a confused look across the table and he continues,

"I haven't been home for Christmas in years"

"Oh" she says

"But this time I'll have you to complain to about all the lameeee family traditions I'm sure my family has" he says, reassuring her that his family likely will participate in all of the cliché holiday traditions he knows she loves.

"You know I'm going to make you go caroling with me right?" she grins

"There is not a chance in hell that that's happening!" he objects

"I think you can be persuaded" she flirts, gently rubbing her leg further up his under the table

"Ms Paulsen! Are you trying to seduce me into caroling with you?" he smirks

"Depends, is it working?" she raises an eyebrow at him ever so slightly

"We can revisit the topic" he says

"Spoken like a true lawyer" she jokes

"What does your family usually do to celebrate Christmas?" he brings the conversation back to the topic on hand. She had already filled him in on how bummed she was her family couldn't get together this year, so he was hoping he could at least give her one of her family's holiday traditions.

"We usually just spend the night at home, have a big family dinner and exchange presents. Oh, and we have a gingerbread house contest!" she beams

He makes a note to text Marcus and set up a surprise contest for her. If she couldn't be with her family this year, and they were going to spend their first Christmas together, he was going to pull out all the stops.

"That sounds nice" he smiles, reaching out and squeezing her hand from across the table

They talk about work for a while, revisiting the new associate applications they had discussed before they headed to Marcus' for the weekend. Donna tells him about Rachel stopping by to ask about their weekend and reassures him she didn't tell her best friend she was now dating her former boss. They talk about potential Christmas gifts for Harvey's family and Donna agrees to help him pick gifts for his niece and nephew the following weekend. He tells her about his client meetings from that day and she listens intently, stopping him to ask questions every so often.

"So, are you going to the Christmas party on Wednesday?" He already knows that she is, and he knows that she wants to keep their new relationship status low key while it's still new, but he can't help but wonder if she had planned on bringing a date before they became a THEY.

"I am, are you?" she asks

"I guess I should be there" he says un-enthusiastically

"You weren't planning on bringing anyone… like before we… you know?" he manages to spit out

"Nope, I RSVP'd for one" she smiles

"What are the odds, so did I" he mirrors her smile, "Maybe I'll see you there?"

"If you play your cards right" she winks. She's in a flirty mood and for once she doesn't have to try and suppress it. She wishes they could go together on Wednesday, but she knows it's for the best that they keep this to themselves while it's still new. The last thing either of them need is over-involved co-workers spooking Harvey, or worse, herself out of their relationship. Plus, everyone knows they tend to be friendly at the holiday parties, she smirks to herself thinking back to the party 5 years ago…

PSL Office Christmas Party 5 Years Prior…

The party had started nearly an hour ago, but Harvey and Donna found themselves seated on the floor of his office, 5 drinks deep, passing a bottle of scotch between them. Donna's heels laid next to his dress shoes on the floor and she was sitting with her legs stretched out in front of her as she leaned back against the couch. Her strapless black dress strewn over top of her legs, her hair pulled to one side of her head in lose, messy curls. Harvey sat less then a foot away from her in a dark Tom Ford suit, his tie hanging loosely around his neck, the top two buttons of his shirt undone. They laugh as they pass the bottle back and forth. It had become their own little Christmas party tradition to have drinks before heading downstairs and having to socialize with the rest of the partners. This year they had let themselves get a little carried away with the drinking, both needing a break from reality.

It began with one drink. One drink and Harvey couldn't help himself, he had to tell her how incredible she looked. She was impeccable this woman, everything she wore seemed to be tailor made for her, showing off every part of her perfectly. He had been silently appreciating her beauty for years, telling her here and there that she looked nice, but tonight he gave in an told her, she looked heartbreakingly beautiful.

Two drinks. Two drinks and she couldn't help but sway to the music coming from the party downstairs.

Three drinks and he asks if she wants to dance. Three and a half and she agrees. He holds her close, noting how perfectly her body melds into his, like two pieces meant to be one. They never touch like this, this is uncharted territory for them. They dance in a comfortable silence, years of friendship allowing for them to find comfort in the silence.

She recalls how her skin tingled where his fingers wrapped themselves around her waist. The way her head fit perfectly into the crook of his neck. The way he pulled her closer into him as the song droned on. The way they stayed entangled for just a brief moment longer then they should have when the song came to an end.

The tension in the room is nearly unbearable. It brings them both back to that night right before the other time…Harvey standing outside her door, both of them waiting for him to come in and finish what they had started when she introduced himself to her at the bar. She may not have wanted sex that night at the bar, but she wanted it when he showed up at her apartment and they both knew he was more than ready to give it to her.

He hesitantly looks over at her, he wonders if she thinks about that night as much as he does. She was right all those years ago, he is more than capable of looking at her in THAT way, in this moment he can't see her in any way other except THAT way.

She wonders what he's thinking, he's usually not this quiet and she can't read his expression, it's one she's unfamiliar with.

Four drinks, they both needed another drink after he finally releases her from his arms. He makes a joke to relieve some of the tension they both feel. They both agree they should get to the party when they finish the drink. They overhear Louis yelling at an associate down the hall about his lack of Christmas spirit and the tension is broken, they can't help but laugh. He asks her about her holiday plans and she's tells him about how her mom and her newest boyfriend are hosting a dinner that she's dreading. This leads them into joking about that awful dinner party and ends with both of them nearly in tears from laughter sitting on the floor.

Five drinks and they kick off their shoes, he scoots closer to her and she can't help herself but think about how intoxicating he smells. They pass the scotch bottle back and forth and she breathes in his cologne and lets herself relax even more, teasing himself about how the dimple in his tie is too far to the left. She loosens his ties in attempt to fix it and fiddles with the button on the top of his shirt when Jessica interrupts telling them to get themselves downstairs and mingle. She rolls her eyes at the sight of Donna and Harvey on the floor of his office, giggling about god knows what. The sight before her doesn't surprise her, after all she's never seen two people who were not romantically involved as close as these two, maybe one day they'll figure it out she muses.

They make their way to the party downstairs, and she's leans into him for support, having drank more than she should have. As they enter, she loops her arm through his, he smiles and leads her across the room to mingle. They spend most of the night side by side, mingling with the other partners but mostly enjoying the company and conversation of the other. She perks up at the sound of the band playing, dragging him out to the dance floor to dance to the soothing sounds of Me and Mrs. Jones. He doesn't protest, instead takes her in his arms and sways her to the music. He surprises her, twirling her away from him and back into his chest. This dance is different from the one they shared in his office, it's friendlier, light hearted, and she laughs as he twirls her around.

No one thinks twice about the dance shared between them, it's friendly and they're close. It's nothing like the moment they shared in his office. A moment they both would think about for years to come, wondering what it meant.

It became their tradition. Drinks in his office before the party and she always saved him a dance (or three) at the party. They never danced in his office again, only shared light-hearted dances in front of many onlookers at the firm, even those years the other brought a date, they always made a point of sharing one dance. It wouldn't surprise anyone when they spent this year's party side by side, it was one of the things they made seem so normal over the years.

They continue chatting over dinner, the conversation never seeming to lull as they discuss what Donna's favourite plays are and what plays he had seen. They then move on to music and boxing. He can't contain his smile, no one has ever made him this happy. She was intelligent, and they had endless amounts of things in common, she listened to him and she wasn't afraid to call him out and challenge him. Everything he had every thought about her and felt towards her over the years didn't even come close to what he felt in this moment. Spending this evening getting to know her in a new way, one where he didn't place restrictions on what he allowed himself to feel. He was free to be himself, she herself, and couldn't love this version of her more. The Donna sitting across from him was everything he knew her to be for the last decade; and so much more. She allowed him to see a side of her she had once thrown away in that box of stuff they didn't talk about, and he was astounded to find that he could be even more drawn to her then he previously was.

She looks at him from across the table, taking in the un-reserved version of him she was finally allowed to enjoy. He was wearing a boyish grin he usually reserved for when he celebrates the defeat of an opponent. She could get used to this, mornings together planning out their day, dinner's talking about everything and anything and evenings catching up for all the time they had lost. She mentally beats herself up for letting her fear get in the way of going after what she wanted. Not that she isn't grateful for his presence in her life for the last few years but staring at the man sitting across from her who is looking at her like she is the only girl in the world, she wonders what would have happened if they had tried this sooner.

"What's something you've always wanted to do in the city but never had the chance?" he asks

"I've always wanted to go skating in Central Park!" she says

"Let's go" he says, motioning for the cheque

"Right now? I'm not exactly dressed for skating" she gestures down towards her dress. He takes the opportunity to give her a once over. He may be a gentleman, but he's been wanting to do that unsubtly for as long as he can remember.

"We'll stop at your place and you can change!" he says excitedly

"Are you serious?" she questions

But he's already standing next to her jacket in hand, wearing such a determined look she knows he's serious. She takes the jacket and follows him out of the restaurant and towards the car, his hand guiding her from the small of her back.

They stop at Donna's apartment, so she can change and they head to the park. She discovers rather quickly that Harvey is not good at everything like he leads on! He can barely hold himself up on the ice, so he leans on her arm for support while holding on to the boards with his other arm. She giggles as he stumbles forward with each step he tries to take, clearly frustrated with his inability to be perfect. She's not the greatest skater herself, but she's able to move well enough to get around the rink without toppling over. She can't believe he impulsively brought them here, especially given he evidently wasn't doing it to show off and impress her. She finally manages to convince him to let go of the boards and take her hand, when a little kid zips in between them sending Harvey flying to the ground, dragging her with him. She lands against his chest with a thud and is unable to suppress her laugh after seeing the horrified look on his face. She manages to stop giggling and he pulls her in for a kiss, still laying on the ice.

"I think I've had enough of ice skating for one night" he claims

"Just when you were getting good" she laughs, and they make their way off the ice and begin removing their skates.

"Thank you, Harvey" she pauses to look at him

"For what?" he asks

"A perfect first date" she smiles

"Well I had to live up to the fictitious first date you told my family I took you on" he smirks

She almost hadn't noticed the similarities between the story she had told, and their evening. She smiles to herself realizing he had taken her words to heart and used them to plan out her ideal evening. He continued to surprise her with his sentimental side, something she hadn't previously seen often.

"Remind me again, how did that story end?" she beams

"I think it ended with me buying you a hot chocolate and taking you home" he wraps his arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer into his side as they begin to leave the park.

"I don't remember there being a part about you taking me home?" she teases

"You're right, that was the PG-rated version of the story, you see in the real story I take you home and we make up for 13 years" he flirts, placing a gentle kiss to her temple as they continue to walk toward the car.

They barely make it through his door before his lips are on hers and he's walking her backwards toward the bedroom. She's removing his tie and unbuttoning his shirt while stepping out of her heels as they trail through the apartment leaving an assortment of clothing behind. He places her down on the bed and kisses his way down her neck as he removes her sweater.

"You know I usually don't do this on the first date" she jokes

"I thought you don't date men you work with either?" he teases back, feeling oddly confident as he continues to nibble on her ear as she undoes his belt.

"I guess some rules are made to be broken" she grins devilishly, pulling him down to kiss her.


	9. I Told You So Chapter 9

Ch 9. December 19th– PSL Christmas Party (Part 1)

"Mikeeee, get in here" Harvey called

"Do you have the files for the Pengiton case?"

Mike hustles in to Harvey's office and hands him the files, "I've gone through them and I think I found something" he says sliding another folding across Harvey's desk.

Harvey looks it over and then looks up at Mike, "This is some great work, it might just be enough to get this thing dismissed, good job"

Mike looks back slightly confused, "Are you serious? Two compliments in one sentence? Are you feeling alright?"

"No one likes a smart ass, just take the compliment" Harvey says

"Alright, alright compliment accepted" Mike says, turning to leave the office

"Mike?" Harvey calls, "Why don't you take that to court this afternoon, consider it an early Christmas gift" Harvey smiles

"But you're the living embodiment of the grinch, and with the mandatory party tonight I figured you called me in here to yell at me" Mike rambles

"Do you want me to start yelling at you? Because I can" Harvey says

"So why don't you take your files and go put your big boy pants on and get ready for court" he adds

Mike is just about to leave but he can't help himself from making one more smart ass remark,

"Tell whatever chick you hooked up with last night that she has no idea how grateful I am for her improving your holiday spirits" he laughs and heads down the hallway.

Harvey smiles to himself, if only the kid knew, he could stop next door and thank her himself.

Rachel and Donna leave the office around 3 and head out for a late lunch before getting ready for the party. Donna is in incredibly high spirits. Not only does she love Christmas and any excuse to doll herself up, but the last few days with Harvey had been incredible. After his terribly sweet gesture of recreating her ideal first date and their romantic evening together she didn't think it could get any better but waking up in his arms the following morning she was proven wrong. Tuesday was a busy day at the office for them both and they hadn't seen much of each other since Harvey was in court for most of it and took a client out for dinner afterwards. He did however send Ray to pick her up and take her home where she was greeted by a small note reading "This has always belonged to you" with her key to his apartment attached to it. Then earlier this morning she brought him a coffee and he told her he couldn't wait to see her later that night. Her stomach had been in a constant state of flurries since the moment he told her he loved her, and she hadn't felt this giddy about a man since well, ever.

Rachel clearly sensing some of Donna's happiness questions, "Donna are you ok? Something just seems different this past week"

"I'm fine Rachel, my minds just been a little preoccupied is all" she says

"Does this have to do with last weekend?" Rachel asks

"Sort've" Donna concedes. Donna and Harvey had discussed their holiday plans over dinner at the start of the week, and both agreed they would tell Mike and Rachel they were keeping up the charade for Harvey's family over the holidays; since neither of them were ready to leave their little bubble just yet. Donna figured this was a perfect opportunity to fill Rachel in on the plan, convincing her that they were going to play pretend one more time for the sake of the Specter family. Rachel looks at Donna, willing her to elaborate.

"It's just we didn't exactly think the entire plan through. Marcus invited Harvey and I to spend Christmas with them and Harvey doesn't want to have to tell them we aren't together."

"Okay" Rachel says, question lingering on her lips

"Since my family isn't celebrating Christmas this year, I figured pretending for a few more days can't hurt" she concludes her lie only to be met by a shocked Rachel.

"So, let me get this straight? You and Harvey are going to spend Christmas with his family?" she clarifies

"Yes, I know it sounds crazy Rach, but I couldn't put him in a situation where he would have to tell his family he lied to them! He and his mother are finally on speaking terms and I can't be the one to jeopardize that" she explains. God, she's good at this she thinks to herself.

"I get it Donna, just be careful okay? I don't want to see you get hurt"

She smiles at Rachel, she can't express how grateful she is for her friend being so concerned. It's almost enough to make her want to tell Rachel the truth, and she will, just not yet.

The two of them finish lunch, finishing up a debate about who is most likely to drink to much and make a foul of themselves at the party; Louis ranks pretty high on both of their lists. Donna excuses herself to go to the restroom and Rachel takes the opportunity to send Mike a quick text.

Did you know Harvey and Donna are spending Christmas playing house again? Hmm maybe playing pretend isn't as scary for them as admitting how they feel about each other – R

Rachel isn't surprised that Donna agreed to help Harvey again. She knows her best friend still harbors feelings for him and getting to pretend they aren't real must make it way less intimidating. Donna can say and do whatever she wants and then claim she was just playing the part. She wonder's if Harvey asked her for help again because he feels the same way? Whatever the reason, she really hopes they figure it out soon.

After lunch the girls head back to Rachel's place to get ready before heading to the office. Mike was scheduled to be in court late with Harvey and was meeting Rachel at the firm. Donna had decided on an elegant but understated emerald green dress. It had thin straps that crossed at her lower back but was otherwise backless and cut just low enough to show off her cleavage. She paired it with her silver Louis Vuittons that were visible through the slit that ran up the left side of the dress. Her hair fell loosely around her face and she completed the look with a daring red lipstick. Rachel had opted for a simple silk strapless red dress that perfectly highlighted her petite frame. After they finally finish getting ready, they polish off the bottle of wine they started and head to the office.

She finds him in his office, sitting behind his desk wearing a fitted black suit and silver tie. He smiles when he sees her come in, standing up to greet her and to tell her how incredible she looks.

God, he must've done something right to have earned the love of this women. He takes her in, fitted gown highlighting her curves, his eyes moving up, pausing briefly at her chest and settling on her eyes which sparkle in the light. He wants to take her in his arms and kiss her until his lungs collapse but he can't. Not here and not now. So, he settles for the next best thing. He walks over to his records and pulls out the Miles Davis album and begins to play it. He walks back over to her and holds out his hand.

"Dance with me" he says

"But were in your office" she replies

"It's not like we haven't done it before" he smiles at her. She smiles back, she wasn't sure he remembered that night, her favourite Christmas party to date. What harm could it possibly do, she thinks, it's practically part of their tradition.

She takes his hand and lets him pull her in close to him. He moves them to the music, his mouth resting just above her ear, one hand in hers and the other wrapped around her waist; thumb tracing small circles across her bare back. She wraps her hands around his neck and they move to the music in silence. She feels his heart beating against her chest and wonders if he can feel her pulse racing. She's never felt happier than in this moment, sharing in the comfort of the silence with him, it's almost overwhelming. The song comes to an end and they stay wrapped up in each other for a few moments longer before he places a delicate kiss on her forehead and releases her. He grabs them both a drink and sits on the edge of his desk.

"Do you remember the last time we danced in your office?" she asks

"I do"

"Your tie was crooked that night, you were nervous beforehand" she recalls, she'd always wondering if he was nervous about spending the night alone with her, since that was one of the first night's they'd spent time alone together since he slipped up and told her he loved her.

"Oh, was I?" he raises his eyebrow slightly, "And what's it looking like now?"

She examines his ties and smiles, slightly crooked, he was nervous about tonight. She steps forward so that she is standing between his legs and reaches to fix his tie. As she reaches for it, he holds her gaze, his look conveying just how grateful he is for her. He tucks a strand of hair behind her ear causing her to blush. She leans in ever so slightly, placing a hand on his chest and kisses him. His kisses her back in a way she's never been kissed. This kiss shares the passion of their first kiss but a sense of urgency as if it were to be their last. She pulls back and finishes fixing his tie. She's catches a glimpse of the time on the clock behind him and sighs.

"We should get downstairs"

"I just need a minute" he says sheepishly. She is about to protest that he can't avoid the party forever but quickly realizes what he means and smiles knowing she's responsible for the delay.

She wipes the red lipstick off his lips with her thumb, removing all evidence of her lips and tells him she is going to grab her purse from her office and to meet him downstairs.

He calls after her, "You better save me a dance!"

Jessica had flown in early that afternoon to surprise her old friends at the Christmas party. She immediately spots Mike and Rachel talking to Louis and his fiancé and makes her way over to them. After catching up, she asks Mike if he's seen Harvey. When he tells her he hasn't, she knows exactly where to find him. Some people never change, and Harvey was always one to avoid the Christmas party for as long as he possibly could. She heads down the hallway towards his office, noting that his light is still on and prepares herself to drag his ass downstairs. After all she didn't fly across the country to visit for him to hide in his office doing paperwork. She's about to barge in and lecture him when she notices he isn't alone. She freezes taking in the site before her; Donna and Harvey standing in his office sharing a moment while Miles Davis plays softly in the background. Donna's stance and adjusting Harvey's tie might be slightly more intimate than the relationship she's used to seeing between these two, but it's the way Harvey is staring at Donna like she is the only women in the world that tells her she may have walked in on a moment far more intimate than the typical moment that would accompany the friendship these two once shared. Her suspicions are confirmed when the two share a kiss, and she turns and heads back to the party, not wanting to intrude. She smiles to herself as she heads back down the hallway, it's about damn time those two figured it out!

Before heading into the party to find Donna, Harvey runs into Jessica in the lobby. When she pulls him in for a hug, she whispers to him, "I'm happy for you Harvey"

"For what?" he questions

"For finally getting your shit together" she grins

How could she possibly know? He thinks. Is it that obvious? No one else seemed to have figured it out.

"But how could you possibly…?"

"Let's just say I knew you'd be hiding out in your office" she cuts him off getting straight to the point.

"I'm happy for you two" she adds

"Thanks Jessica, I can't say I've ever been happier" he smiles

"Well good, I hope she keeps you on your toes" she says before turning to head into the party

"Oh and Jessica, were trying to keep it low key, just while it's still new so I'd appreciate if you kept this to yourself" he says

"Will do" she says. He follows her into the party, searching the crowd for her flaming red hair, or that dress. God, that dress.

He spots her standing by the bar talking to a brunette that looks oddly familiar. It isn't until he gets closer that he realizes who she's talking to.

"Harvey" the woman greets

"Scottie?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Brace yourselves Darvey lovers! We've got a long way to go before the Specter family Christmas and New Years Eve and I promise it'll be worth sticking around to read! Stay tuned for Ch. 10 - PSL Christmas Part (Part 2)
> 
> I'd love to hear your thoughts on this one!


	10. I Told You So Ch 10

Ch 10. December 19th – PSL Christmas Party (Part 2)

"It's good to see you Harvey, how have you been?" she smiles at him

He's shocked to see her, he can't fathom why she would be here? He looks from her to Donna and notices Donna doesn't seem nearly as flustered to see Scottie as he is. If Scottie was here to win him back, then why did Donna seem so relaxed?

"I can honestly say I've never been better" he looks past her to his red-headed girlfriend who is smirking back at him.

Donna spots Jessica across the room and excuses herself, mumbling something about leaving these two to catch up. She gives Harvey a small squeeze on the arm as she walks past him.

He can't understand why she would leave him alone with Scottie? If Stephen Huntley had shown up out of the blue there wasn't a chance in hell he would leave the two of them alone together. Maybe she didn't have a jealous side, he thought.

She had been insanely jealous when she first spotted Scottie at the bar, immediately approaching her in attempt to find out if she was at this party to win Harvey back. She had only just claimed a monopoly on his heart, the last thing she needed was another woman coming back into his life to complicate things. Sure, she trusted Harvey, but he had a complicated history with Scottie and she worried that her showing up here would rock the boat and remind him of the commitment issues he has had in the past, spooking him into believing he would mess up their relationship and lose her for good. Scottie greeted her sweetly, but Donna could see right through her act. The two of them never really liked one another. Donna truly was happy for Harvey when he was with Scottie, wanting nothing more than for him to be happy, but Scottie was never a fan of Donna's. She always assumed there was more going on between her and Harvey; and he only confirmed her suspicions when she came to visit him last year and he told her his last relationship had ended and he couldn't rule out that it had nothing to do with Donna.

As soon as she greets Scottie, she notices the light catch and reflect off the ring balanced on her left hand, an engagement ring!

"What brings you back to PSL?" Donna asks

"My fiance is actually a client, I'm just here as his date" she smiles, noticing Donna staring at her ring she feels the need to elaborate, "We've been engaged for three months now" she smiles

Donna let's out a breath of relief, Scottie was here with another man!

"How about you? Are you seeing anyone?" Scottie asks

"I am actually, it's still relatively new though" she responds. She doesn't know why she tells her she's seeing someone, but she figures she's still feeling slightly possessive and doesn't have to tell her the whole truth.

"That's wonderful, it's good to hear Donna" Scottie says, "I'm sure he's a wonderful man"

"He is" Donna smiles, spotting Harvey over Scottie's shoulder making his was over to them, he smiles at her when he catches her eye.

Scottie turns to see what Donna is staring at and finds Harvey headed their way, the expression he wears a parallel to Donna's, smitten. Well god be damned, looks like Harvey Specter finally got over his fear of commitment, she thinks to herself.

Harvey is flustered. He is finally happy, and then Scottie randomly re-appears in his life. What if Donna thinks she is there to win him over, or worse, what if she thinks he invited her?! The funny thing is, the last time she showed up in his office he was slightly hopeful that she was there to ask him to give their relationship another chance, however this time the thought hadn't even crossed his mind. She could be ready to beg and plead and he wouldn't even bat an eyelash. He was so terribly in love with Donna he couldn't bring himself to even think about being with anyone else.

"You've never looked happier" she grins, snapping him out of his thoughts and back to the conversation on hand.

"For the record, she's never looked happier either" she looks over at Donna who is now mingling with Jessica.

Wait, WHAT?! (is all Harvey's brain can come up with in the moment) How is it possible that in the last 30 minutes two people have implied they knew about his relationship with Donna. The again, Jessica has always been able to read him, and when it came to his relationship with Donna, Scottie always seemed to be one step ahead of him when it came to sorting out his feelings. A sudden wave of relief washes over him as he realizes she has no intention of trying to reignite their old flame.

"You think so?" he smiles

"There's not a doubt in my mind" she smiles back

"What are you doing here?" he finally asks her, still not quite as observant as Donna had been

"My fiancé" she holds up her left hand, "Is a client at your firm" she says

"Speak of the devil" she grins as a man comes up behind her and places a kiss on her cheek, "Harvey, this is Nathan"

After chatting with Scottie and her fiancé over drinks, he finally manages to excuse himself and slip away to find her. He spots her seated next to Louis at a table on the far side of the room, his eyes immediately finding that deep green dress and he makes his way over to her. A few people stop him to talk on the way, but he quickly brushes off the conversations, making it his only mission to finally get her on the dance floor. Before he reaches her table, he sees Benjamin, the IT guy, approach her and the next thing he knows she's headed to the dance floor with him. Sure, it's a fast, non-romantic song and he knows the two of them are good friends, but he can't help but feel jealous. He finally reaches the table and takes a seat next to Louis.

"Harvey, there you are! Donna was just asking if I'd seen you" he says

"Something about you owing her a dance? I wouldn't worry too much about it, looks like Benjamin's got that dance covered" he adds, looking over to where Benjamin and Donna are dancing alongside each other to the upbeat Christmas tune.

Harvey tries his best to control his growing jealousy, after all he watched her date other men for years, but something about finally having her all to himself makes him wish everyone here knew how he felt about her; how they felt about each other. For the second time that evening, he found himself wishing he could stand up on one of the tables and let everyone know just how much he loved her. But he doesn't because he respects her wanting to keep things to themselves for a while. In a weird way, he enjoys keeping their relationship a secret, it makes it seem almost dangerous, the notion that if they made one wrong move someone could find out, only amplified the already heightened sexual tension between the pair. She had once warned him that if he was ever lucky enough to have her, he wouldn't want to share, boy was she right. He may have talked himself out of a grand romantic gesture; professing his love to her in front of the entire staff, but he can't help himself from heading over to where she is on the dance floor and asking her to dance. As he gets up to leave Louis calls after him,

"Harvey?! Where are you going, I was in the middle of telling you about this cat were thinking of adopting" he shouts. Harvey was so preoccupied he hadn't even realized Louis had been talking to him. When he makes it over to Benjamin and Donna, he taps Benjamin on the shoulder,

"Mind if I cut in?" he asks

Benjamin looks slightly intimidated, how was he supposed to say no to a name partner? He looks to Donna and says, "Ladies choice"

Donna smiles at him and thanks him for the dance before turning to face Harvey, taking his hand as the band switches gears and starts a slow song, "About time" she teases

"Were you trying to make me jealous?" he questions, a hint of sarcasm dripping in his voice

"Depends, was it working?" she smirks

"You have no idea" he whispers into her ear; his hand finding it's place on her waist. They had held other more in the last week than they'd made physical contact in 13 years and both had to admit it felt right to be in the other's arms.

"Besides, you owe me a dance" he smiles, twirling her away from him before spinning her back into his chest.

Jessica joins Louis, taking a seat at the table and Mike and Rachel join them on the dance floor, taking in the familiarity and the calmness radiating off their friends. Rachel swore she spotted Scottie earlier in the evening and makes a mental note to ask Donna about it later. Donna and Harvey seemed to move so naturally together. Rachel was used to seeing her friend and boss share a dance every once and a while at the holiday office parties, but never like this. Donna seemed to be hanging off every word Harvey said to her as he twirled her around, swaying her to the music and Harvey was wearing his Cheshire cat grin and pulling Donna closer to his chest as the song droned on. If she didn't know the two of them, she wouldn't need to be convinced that the couple before her had been together for years.

Louis looks over and spots Donna resting her head on Harvey's shoulder as the song nears its end. He turns to Jessica,

"Man, what I wouldn't give for a friendship like that, would you look at those two bonding" he remarks

"You have no idea" Jessica chuckles.

This dance, though not near as intimate as the one they shared in his office was much more intimate than the ones they usually shared at staff events. Both were so wrapped up in the excitement of the other they didn't have time to care. It's only when Mike clears his throat next to them that they realize the song has come to an end. He releases her hand and she steps back, blushing ever so slightly as if they had just been caught doing something they shouldn't be.

"I hate to interrupt whatever THIS is" Mike smirks, "But Rachel and I were wondering if you guys wanted to join us for drinks?"

"Easy there, smartass, I can still take away your holiday bonus" Harvey threatens. Rachel and Donna head to grab their coats with Mike and Harvey trailing behind.

"No need to act rashly, I usually dance with my friends like that too" Mike teases

"Ohhhhh, looks like you just lost a quarter of it" Harvey says

"Common Harvey, you know I'm just teasing you, it's not my fault you make it so easy. Next time can you dance with Louis? I'd pay to see that" he giggles

"That's half, should we go for three quarters?"

"What I'm hearing is drinks are on you?" Mike adds as they catch up to the girls at the elevators. He pulls Rachel back as they step inside and whispers to her, "He's got it bad" referring to Harvey's feelings for Donna.

The four of them decide to head back to Harvey's place for drinks, piling into the back of Harvey's car and giggling about the way Louis had begun doing the electric slide mid way through the night. Once they get back to Harvey's the four settle on the couches, Mike and Rachel sitting opposite Harvey and Donna, they crack open a new bottle of scotch.

"So, what are your holiday plans?" Donna directs towards Mike and Rachel. She assumes Rachel filled Mike in on her and Harvey's plans for Christmas.

"Were just having dinner with my parents, it's going to be pretty low key" she smiles.

"What about you two? I still can't believe he managed to rope you into dealing with him again" Mike says to Donna

"What can I say, I'm such a good fake boyfriend she couldn't resist my charm" he grins and is met with a playful swat on the arm from Donna which causes Mike and Rachel to laugh.

"I had to give in after all the begging, I wouldn't want to be the one to bring mister hot shot lawyer to tears" she laughs

"What I wouldn't give to have been a part of that conversation, did he really beg?" Mike says

"Does anyone need another drink?" Harvey says cutting Mike off and beginning to get up and move towards the kitchen

"It's alright Harvey I can grab it" offers Rachel who is standing closest to the kitchen anyways.

She heads to the kitchen in search of the bottle and spots it, sitting on the island. As she grabs it and turns to leave a cream coloured sweater draped over one of the kitchen chairs catches her eye. Wasn't that Donna's favourite sweater? She could've sworn Donna wore a black over coat to the party, and when had she been in the kitchen? Suddenly it hits her. Donna must have left it here. She supposes it's possible Donna came over to discuss the Christmas plans with Harvey and had left it behind, after all they were friends, and friends spent time together. You're being paranoid she thinks to herself. But was she? She saw how they looked at each other when they danced and this past week there was an unusual closeness about them; Donna did seem to be in incredibly high spirits, maybe she was on to something. She peers back into the living room and watches as Harvey listens avidly to the story Donna is telling him and Mike. His arm runs along the couch behind her and his body language is dripping with telltale signs. She looks from him to Donna and notices she's emanating the same vibe he is. Sure, she's used to them flirting with each other, but that look in his eye tells her there's more than their usual flirty banter going on here. And if she's picking up on it, they must not be trying to hide it from the other. Oh my god! She can't believe she didn't see it before, her friends were well past the point of pretending to be together, she's pretty sure they are together! She should've known by the way Donna's face lit up when she told her about their weekend that something had come of it. As much as she was dying to know all the details, she figures there's a reason Donna hasn't told her yet, so as much as it pains her, she'll wait for her to tell her. She grabs the bottle and heads back to the living room, a devilish grin plastered across her face. She may have decided to wait for them to tell her on their own time, but that didn't mean she couldn't have a little bit of fun with them.

"So, Harvey I thought I saw Scottie tonight?" Rachel questions, watching him turn 50 shades of red.

"You two aren't seeing each other again, are you?" she adds. He nearly chokes on the sip he just took. Mike sends a sideways glance her way, what is she doing questioning him about Scottie in front of Donna?

"No, we're not" he manages to spit out relatively calmly, "Her fiancé is a client of the firms"

She knows she's managed to rattle him and as much as she hates what she's about to do to her best friend, she continues.

"Speaking of seeing someone, Donna when are you going to let me set you up with my friend Derek?"

Donna, being Donna, knows Rachel must be up to something so she plays along. Mike whispers in Rachel's ear so only she can hear him, "What are you doing?"

"Just trust me" she whispers back.

"Actually, Rachel I meant to tell you at lunch, I've started seeing someone" she offers shyly. She doesn't dare look over at Harvey because she knows he has no idea where she's going with this and doesn't want his expression to give anything away.

"You have?!" Mike interjects

"Yes" Donna says matter-of-factly, "We met at Marcus' reception actually"

She can feel Harvey boring a whole into the side of her head with the look he's giving her, slightly confused, slightly curious.

"Aw Donna I'm so happy for you" Rachel coos, she knows her best friend is lying through her teeth, but she gives her the benefit of the doubt and let's her continue. Mike is baffled, if Donna was seeing someone why would she still agree to attend Harvey's family Christmas? Donna throws a look Harvey's way and he finally picks up on what she's doing and decides to join in on the fun.

"What's he like?" Rachel asks

"He's incredibly sweet, charismatic and unbelievably handsome" she smiles "He's a doctor" she adds

"Doctors are over-rated" Harvey drones

"Jealous?" she raises an eyebrow at him

"I don't get jealous" he says confidently

"Harvey you are the most jealous person I know!" she exclaims. They are having so much fun with this they almost forget they have an audience.

"You know, it's getting late we should get going Rachel" Mike says, "Let's leave these two to… this" and they head towards the door. Rachel turns back to them "Merry Christmas you guys, and Donna I'm so happy for you!" she runs back to give her friend a small squeeze. Donna giving her a small smile telling Rachel that she knows, that she knows.

Shutting the door behind them Mike turns to Rachel,

"What was that about? Why would you ask Donna about setting her up with someone in front of Harvey?!" he asks

"You know, for someone so smart you really are clueless sometimes" Rachel chuckles at him

"What just happened?" Harvey asks her

"Rachel knows" she says

"How?" he asks

"I'm not too sure, but she definitely knew, she hasn't tried to set me up with anyone in a long time" she concludes

"Unbelievably handsome, huh?" he says, sliding closer to her on the couch until he is pressed up against her side. She relaxes, leaning back onto him.

"Who says I was describing you" she smirks as he pulls her in and kisses her.

"I was" she concedes

She yawns, struggling to keep her eyes open. They've had a long day and she can't wait to fall asleep in his arms.

After such a long day he's so grateful for her presence. He never wanted to stop holding her this way. She was always the calm to his storm, one step ahead of him and he doubts he would be half of the man he was today without her by his side.

"Hey Donna?" he whispers as she begins to fall asleep

"I love you"

I would love to hear your thoughts !

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stay tuned for Chapter 11 - Specter Family Christmas! (soon to be followed by a truly LITT new years eve!)


	11. I Told You So Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I've decided to toss in a chapter before Specter family Christmas with some super fluffy Darvey stuff! Enjoy! (This chapter is also rated slightly higher than the previous ones and should be for a more mature audience)

Ch 11 – Dec 18th – Alone at Last

She wakes up in his arms, his head snuggled into her neck. She remembers falling asleep on the couch, he must've carried her to bed late last night. She smiles as he somehow manages to pull her even closer in his sleep. Who know he could be such a cuddler? He slowly opens his eyes and greets her with a sleepy hello. God, his sleepy voice was so sexy.

"And here I thought I was dreaming waking up next to you" he grins, "I could stay here all day"

"I like the sound of that" she smiles back, turning to face him.

He runs his fingers along her arm until he reaches her hand and slides his fingers between hers, following his finger with his lips, placing delicate kisses down her arm.

"It's settled, we forget about Boston and Christmas shopping and spend all day in bed" he mumbles, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and placing a kiss on her lips.

"Speaking of Boston, you never did answer my question"

"I think I've made it very clear how I love you" he grins

"Harvey" she warns "The story"

"Donna, I couldn't make something like that up if I tried. To be honest I'd never told anyone that story. I don't even think I realized that was the moment I knew I needed you in my life until I said it out loud. But looking back on it now I see that moment so clearly, you sitting there smiling, not even realizing the affect you had on me, one glance at you and you took my breathe away. I love your smile" he pauses; "it starts my day that smile."

"Harvey, that is the sweetest thing you've ever said to me" She is dumbfounded at how emotionally available he had made himself in the last week. It was so uncharacteristic of him to be so open with his feelings. She couldn't pinpoint when the shift happened, but she assumed overhearing her confessing that she reciprocated his feelings helped.

"What about you?" he asks, "Did you really not feel anything when you kissed me that night?"

She stares up at him and laughs, "No, I thought about that kiss for weeks" she confesses

"Then why did you tell me you didn't feel anything?" he asks

"Because it's what you needed to hear. You were with Paula and I shouldn't have made you into the one thing I knew you hated most. I just couldn't help myself. Between Mike encouraging me to tell you how I felt and Louis droning on about how he was about to stand by and watch his soulmate marry someone else, I couldn't live with myself if I didn't try. I regret the position I put you in everyday, but I don't regret doing it, because it told me exactly what I needed to know. That connection that I feared I had been imagining was there, I knew as soon as I felt you kiss me back that it was real"

He wonders if she can feel his heart rate increase as she continues. He was so angry when she kissed him, but he wasn't so much angry at her as he was at himself. He was in a relationship and he kissed her back when he could have stopped her. He knows exactly why he did it, he had wanted to for years, so when she finally took the initiative and made a move, how could her not kiss her back?

"I never did apologize, for taking my anger out on you"

"You don't have to apologize Harvey, I put you in a tough position" she says giving his hand a squeeze

"I was never really mad at you, you know, I was mad at myself for being with the wrong women and not having the balls to say anything. And while we're confessing just so you know, when it comes down to choosing between you and ANYONE else, I would choose you every time"

he smiles and grabs a fistful of his shirt, pulling him in for a kiss. Kissing him only got better each time. His lips were so soft and always seemed incredibly eager to meet with hers. He always knew exactly what to do with his hands; he currently uses one to pull her waist closer while the other finds it's way into her hair. He begins by kissing her gently, and deeps the kiss as he pulls her beneath him. His tongue brushes past her upper lip in search of hers and he kisses her until they're both left breathless.

"I think that Christmas shopping is going to have to wait" he remarks with a devilish grin before continuing to kiss her until they're both dizzy.

They finally manage to get themselves out of bed around noon. It's a good thing they took the next few days off to get things in order for the holidays; which mostly meant doing all of the Christmas shopping that Harvey had been avoiding. She's sitting at the kitchen counter wearing one of Harvey's dress shirts while he makes them brunch.

"I think we should go to Macy's first" she says, noticing her sweater still hanging from the chair beside her. It made perfect sense now, Rachel must have seen it when she came in here to get drinks the night before.

"That way we can get something for your mom and the kids"

"Ah, so it has nothing to do with you wanting to check out the handbags?" he mocks

"Of course not! I'm all about finding the perfect gifts for your family. And if we so happen to walk by the hand bag section, and I just so happen to spot one I like, well then you have a gift for me too" she smiles

"What if I already got you a gift?" he says, sliding fresh pieces of French toast onto the plate in front of her

"I have bought every gift you've ever given for the last decade and you expect me to believe you already got me a Christmas gift? We haven't even been dating for a full week!" She reaches for the french toast and adds some strawberries on top before proceeding to drown it in syrup.

He raises an eyebrow as she proceeds to drown her food in sugar and he's met with a slight eye roll.

"What?" she questions his look

"Do you have enough sugar there?" he laughs

"I actually don't think I have enough" she smirks back

"Who says I wouldn't have given you an incredible gift even if we weren't together? I always get you a Christmas gift" he protests, having given up on trying to prevent her from eating pure sugar for breakfast.

"You do, but I always help you pick them out"

"Well this year I've gone rogue and picked something out all on my own" he flashes her a smile and takes a seat beside her, sliding her the coffee he just made.

"Lord help us" she laughs as they dig into breakfast, both desperately needing the energy to take on Christmas shopping.

They had been shopping for nearly three hours and he doesn't know if he can take much longer. Between the holiday crowds and the pile of bags he was lugging around, he was exhausted, and they still had a long drive ahead of them. They decided to head to Marcus' house a few days early so that they could join in on some of the family holiday traditions; much to Harvey's dismay.

He can't help but smile at the irony of it all. Just this time last week they two of them were shopping before heading to Boston and he was a bundle of nerves just thinking about spending the weekend pretending to date her. Here they were merely a week later gift shopping as a couple. When he asked her to attend the wedding, never in his wildest dreams did he imagine they would be able to work through 13 years of feelings and come out with everything.

She finds him browsing in the toddler section (a fluke as he absentmindedly wandered the store waiting for her) and slips her arm through his.

"A little presumptuous, don't you think?" she teases, causing him to turn the same shade of red as the store banners. He looks like he's about to pass out, so she quickly tries to diffuse the situation,

"I'm just teasing Harvey, what are you doing over here anyways?"

"I didn't realize, just wandering aimlessly while I wait for you" he admits as they stroll down the isle arm in arm.

"Ah, well, play your cards right and one day we could be shopping in this section for real" she winks at him, watching him begin to redden again. He was so predictable he made teasing him too easy.

They round the corner of the isle, Donna giggling at how embarrassed she'd managed to make Harvey in public and smack into someone turning the corner into the isle. Donna looks up to see the man they just collided with looks awfully familiar, Louis. She quickly drops her hand, releasing Harvey's arm and greets him.

"Louis, what are you doing here?" she smiles

"Just some last minute Christmas shopping, what are you two doing here?" he eyes them, taking in all the shopping bags Harvey is holding.

"You know me, incapable of picking out gifts without Donna's help" Harvey offers.

"Oh yes last year Donna got me the most wonderful Shakespeare playbook from you Harvey, carry on" Louis says as he moves down the isle.

He turns back and calls after them, "Oh, and Merry Christmas!"

The run in with Louis is enough to convince Donna to wrap up their shopping trip and the pair head to Donna's to pick up her bags before beginning their drive. They managed to find gifts for everyone; Harvey spoiled his niece and nephew picking out all the newest toys and they picked out a beautiful photo album for his mother.

She takes in his casual look as Ray drives them back to her apartment. Aside from the past week she rarely saw him in casual clothing, she almost forgot how good he looked in it. Sitting in the back seat of his car she takes him in, dark jeans and a cream coloured cashmere sweater, his hair slightly messy, no hair gel in sight. Her stomach flips at the notation that this man was all hers and she tries not to get carried away thinking about how sexy he looks in that sweater. He catches her staring at him out of the corner of his eye and his lips curl up into a grin.

"Donnaaa" he asks, question lingering in his tone

"Harveeyyy" she mirrors, scooting closer to him and crossing her legs so that she could run her foot along his leg in gentle circular motions.

He raises his left eyebrow at her and cocks his head ever so slightly. She runs her fingers delicately along his forearm, holding his gaze as she does so. He has no idea what has gotten into her, the look in her eye telling him she wasn't playing games, she wanted him, now. He decides to toy with her a little bit, after all she wasn't the only one who got to have fun teasing in this relationship.

"What's gotten into you?" he tries, while giving in slightly and bringing his arm around her while the other hand fiddles with the zipper on her jacket.

"I just figured we're going to be spending so much time with family the next few days, we should enjoy all the alone time while we can. And besides" her lips now hovering above his ear, her hot breath sending a goose bumps up his arm "Don't tell me you haven't dreamt of doing this" she hums, drunk on him.

"She was not making this easy on him. In all the years he'd know her he knew she was something special, but he never realized just how sexy she could be. In one swift motion he pulls her on top of him so that she's straddling him as he places sloppy kisses from her neck to her collarbone. His hand caresses her cheek and he pulls her in for a kiss. She closes her eyes anxiously awaiting the feel of his lips on hers, only to be disappointed when he stops just shy, "You have no idea" he whispers, before reaching beside him to open the car door. She had been so caught up in the moment she hadn't even realized they were at her apartment. She climbs off his lap, the ghost of his lips so close to hers still haunting her as they enter the elevator.

It's eerily silent as he presses the button for her floor, the tension so thick he swears it could suffocate them. As soon as the doors shut, he has he pressed against the wall, hands in her hair while she tugs on his tie in eager attempt to remove it. They stumble out of the elevator once it reaches her floor, a mess of limbs and hungry kisses as he fumbles to unlock her door, scooping her up once he does so and carrying her straight to her bedroom.

The ride to Boston is quiet, both exhausted from their prior "alone time." 13 years is a lot of time to make up for and Harvey wasn't keen on wasting any more time; In the 4 hours before they had to hit the road he managed to pleasure her several times. He also managed to sneak her Christmas gift into the trunk of his car while she was busy packing. It was one of the first gifts he had ever picked out without her help; as she liked to point out, and he was sure she would love it. She begins to hum a song that comes on the radio, last Christmas, and before they know it both are singing it at the top of their lungs and giggling as they make their way down the freeway.


	12. I Told You So Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the first part of Specter Family Christmas, enjoy! xx

Ch 12 – Dec 19th - Specter Family Christmas (Part 1/3)

They arrived late the night before and went straight to bed, absolutely exhausted from their day of shopping, carpool karaoke and spending time in the bedroom (or whatever space they could find; he smirks as he thinks back to last night in her kitchen) Donna was asleep within seconds of her head hitting the pillow and he followed suit not long after she had drifted off.

They're woken by the sound of the kids screaming BREAKFAST, and he smirks to himself knowing she was right yesterday, he definitely needed some alone time before the next 6 days of this; how she managed to always know him so well, he will never fully understand. He nuzzles his nose into her neck, waking her with a gentle "goodmorning"

Upon entering the kitchen for breakfast they're greeted with an assortment of good mornings from the Specter family. Katie and Marcus appear to be heading out and Marcus tells them they have some errands to run but will be back in the afternoon to take the kids to see Santa. Just as he sits down to begin his coffee Harvey is greeted by the sound of little feet hitting the floor as they run towards him.

"UNCLE HARVEY will you come help us put the star on the tree" they smile up at him.

He sighs and takes a sip of his coffee. Before he can decline Donna pipes up, "I think uncle Harvey would love to help" throwing him a wink as she sips her coffee from across the table.

Harvey gets up to go help and throws Donna a look over his shoulder, "I'll get you for this" he calls

"I'm quivering in my socks" she quips back.

As Harvey leaves to go help with the tree Lily takes his seat across from Donna, "Looks like it's just us girls" she smiles, "We're really glad you two could make it"

"We're so happy you could have us!" she beams at the older women

"It must take a very special women to convince my stubborn son to take some time off and join his family for the holidays. I knew you were quite something the last time I met you, but I can't thank you enough for helping bring my entire family together like this"

"Oh, but I didn't… Harvey didn't just come home because of me, I'm sure he would've come home anyways now that you guys are…" her voice falls off, not wanting to bring up the past feud between Harvey and his mother.

"Exactly dear, I assume you are also the special young women who convinced him to forgive me and give me a second chance in the first place"

"I didn't realize that he told you" she mumbles

"He didn't tell me who, only that someone very special to him helped him see the light, and now having met you I know he was talking about you" Donna blushes, she had no idea Harvey had told his mother that someone special to him convinced him to make amends. She doesn't know what to say so she smiles and says, "I'm really glad you two were able to move past it"

"Me too" Lily agrees, "I'm just glad that he's finally able to let someone in after all these years. I'll never forgive myself for the emotional strain I put on him, and that's something that I will have to live with for the rest of my life. I'm just so happy he's found someone who can see through his inability to express his feelings"

Donna meets Lily's gaze and offers a shy smile, "It took a while, but I think he's getting there" she jokes and both women can't help but laugh, returning to their breakfast.

Donna is the first to break the silence that had fallen since their last, rather serious, conversation, "Lily I was wondering if I could ask you a small favour"

"What is it dear?"

"There's something I had in mind to give Harvey for Christmas and I was wondering if you would be able to help me out"

After breakfast the rest of the morning goes by rather quickly. She helps Harvey and the kids finish decorating the tree, giggling like a school girl with a crush every time he reaches around her to place an ornament on the opposite side of her; an excuse to wrap his arms around her she assumed. Marcus and Katie return to take the kids to visit Santa at the mall and they decide to tag along. Before they leave, she excuses herself to answer the phone that is now ringing in her pocket.

"Hey dad" she smiles into the device

"Hey sweetheart, I just wanted to check in and see how the holiday's were treating you"

"Really well dad! Harvey's family has some fun new traditions that we don't usually do" she adds, trying to slip in the fact that she was spending Christmas with the Specter's as smoothly as possible. Harvey and her father had never exactly seen eye to eye and she wanted her dad to be happy about her new relationship.

"Harvey's family eh?" his voice riddled with uncertainty

"Yes" she answers, knowing she doesn't need to explain any further, her dad will just know.

"Are you happy sweetheart?" he asks

"I've never been happier" responds

"Then I'm happy for you darling" he adds before wishing her well. She's about to put her phone away and join the others at the door when she sees a text from Rachel. She was wondering how long it would take her friend to ask her for all the details of the relationship she recently discovered. She opens the message

Pre-LITT party new years drinks? We can invite Mike and Harvey if you want? -R

She types back

It sounds like a double date, see you then – D

A double date, have something to share? – R

We both know you already knew, but alright I'll play along, yes a date, that's what people who are dating do, isn't it? – D

AHHH! So happy for you guys! Promise to fill me in on all the details later? – R

Absolutely – D

Back at home Rachel smiles to herself. She decides not to tell Mike that Donna confirmed what she thought to be true. She can't wait to see his reaction when he finds out she was right on his own.

She heads back to the group and puts on her coat, Harvey sends her a small smile, "Everything ok?"

"Ya, just my dad calling to wish us a Merry Christmas"

"Us?" he raises his eyebrow slightly, he knows full well that her father isn't his biggest fan.

"Yes, us" she grins and heads out the door towards the car, waiting for him to follow.

Harvey never wants to step into another store during the holidays again! Granted he'd done more shopping the past week then he had during the entire year, but he can't believe people actually enjoy shopping with all the crowds and screaming children. The group had been waiting in line to see Santa for almost an hour, and much to his relief, they were next up. His niece and nephew excitedly told the man in the costume all about what they wanted for Christmas and smiled nicely in his lap for a picture. The smiles on their little faces almost made it worth the wait, but watching Donna staring at them whispering into Santa's ear adoringly is so endearing it makes him want to stand in line for another hour just to watch it all over again. The kids finish up with Santa and Harvey sneaks up beside her and whispers to her,

"Aren't you going to tell Santa what you want?" with a mocking tone, half expecting her to respond by saying she already had everything she wanted; she seemed to be in that type of mood the entire time they'd been at the mall. She can't help herself from being so smitten, watching him goof around with those kids, who absolutely adored everything about their uncle Harvey. She bats her eyelashes up at him and looks him dead in the eye, "I don't think Santa can help me with that one." He takes one look at her dilated pupils, taking in the way she eyes him like he's the last cookie in the cookie jar.

"Donna Paulsen there are children around" he smirks

"You're too easy to tease" she jokes, slipping her fingers between his as they walk to meet the rest of his family.

"After the other night, I never know with you" he playfully shoves her side, referring to her inability to keep her hands to herself in the back of the car; not that he minded.

"You like it, besides the magics in the mystery" she shoves back as he rolls his eyes dramatically in response.

"I swear you're going to be the death of me" he adds placing a kiss into her temple.

"My god, can you two knock it off with the lovey-dovey stuff, you're making me look bad here" Marcus says as he gestures towards his own wife who is helping her kids bundle up before leaving the store.

"Don't you dare listen to him" Katie says in Harvey's direction "I've never seen you so smitten, it's nice" she adds causing Harvey's cheeks to redden once again. Donna squeezes his hand and sends him a sweet tight-lipped smile.

Once outside and headed to the car Harvey scoops up his niece and puts her on his shoulders, causing her to shriek with delight. She trails behind the boys with Katie, taking in the sight before her. New York City's best closer twirling around his little niece as she laughed. Her heart had never felt so full, nor had she ever been so attracted to him. Katie catches her smiling, "I've always thought he would make an amazing father" nodding her head towards Harvey.

"He may put on a tough guy act, but he has one of the biggest hearts I know, the kids adore him" she smiles at Donna, "Who knows maybe one day you guys will have kids of your own"

Donna's smile grows at the thought. Of course she had thought about it before, wanting everything with him. But that was when it was far from a reality, their relationship seemingly stuck in an infinite loop of going no where. Now that they truly were a they, she hadn't really considered what it would be like to actually have everything with him. Sunday morning brunches, little league practice, birthday parties and first days of school. The more she thinks about it, and the more she watches him with his niece and nephew, the more certain she is, she wants this one day; with him.

"Have you guys thought about it?" Katies asks

"Oh god, not yet, we've barely scratched the surface on the relationship stuff, I wouldn't want to spook him after a few weeks" she replies without thinking.

"A few weeks? I thought you said you guys had been dating for 6 months?" Katie questions

"We have!" Donna says quickly, "It just feels so short since we've known each other for so long" she recovers, watching as Katie considers her answer before smiling in agreement with her statement. She supposes it wouldn't hurt if Katie knew the truth but she knew Harvey wanted to save face with his little brother and she needed to pay more attention to what she said if she didn't want to jeopardize Harvey's reputation with his kid brother.

He sets her hot chocolate down on the table as he snuggles in beneath the blanket next to her, arm wrapped around her shoulder.

"I almost told Katie we've only been together a few weeks" she admits looking up at him

"What?!" he exclaims

"I fixed it don't worry! Besides, we're together now, would it matter if they knew?"

"It would matter to me" he says, still slightly unnerved by her prior admission

"It would? Why?"

"Because, Marcus has always seen me as this successful role model, but I could never help but feel like he looked down on me for not being able to commit to a serious relationship. When I told him about you, for the first time in my life I didn't feel like he viewed me as an emotional screw up, he was proud of me." He finishes, trying to calm himself down from the worked up state he finds himself in.

"I understand Harvey, it's okay" she reassures him, "It's our little secret"

"Thank you, Donna"

He pulls her into his side and smiles into her forehead, breathing in her perfume as he starts the movie she's convinced him to watch. Her heart swells knowing his thank you bears more meaning then what it leads on. It's a thank you for not losing faith in him, for being his voice of reason and his best friend, for the past 13 years.

December 20th

The next day they wake up to a snow-covered ground and beyond excited children who can't wait to get outside and build a snowman. After a family breakfast at which Marcus and Harvey spent the better part of an hour discussing baseball, the kids convince Donna and Harvey to join them in the snow. Harvey rolls his eyes dramatically as he puts on his coat, looking to Donna he says "I can't remember the last time I played in the snow. It's so cold and wet, what self-respecting adult wants to go roll around in it"

"Oh, common now Mr. Grinch, it won't be so bad" she grins, helping him adjust his scarf; much like she used to do with his tie at the office.

"Besides, I remember the last time you played in the snow, and if I'm remembering correctly, you had a great time" she winks and heads out the door, Harvey in tow thinking back to that day years prior.

"What a gross day" he remarks, looking out the window of above his desk at the DA's office, watching the snow fall.

"I think it's beautiful" she says as she struts into his office, handing him a stack of folders.

"How can anything so cold be beautiful? Besides it just makes the roads a complete mess" he adds as she rounds his desk and fiddles with his tie, centering it. He smiles at her as she fixes it, what would he do without her, he thinks.

"Someone's cranky because he lost at poker last night" she observes

"I did not lose! What makes you think I lost?" he challenges

"Shirt... Tie… Stubble" she grins, knowing he knows what she means, they're been over this before, she's Donna.

"Even if I'd have won, I'd still hate the snow" he adds as she walks away. She calls back at him making a smart-ass comment about him being a grinch and makes her way back to her desk.

At 8pm they're both are still hard at work on a case, barely even noticing the snow-covered ground outside. It isn't until Donna begins to get ready to head home that she realizes most of the roads are closed due to the storm. She makes her way to Harvey's office, coat in hand and finds him reading over some paper work. She rarely sees him in glasses, but he looks handsome in them and she wishes he would wear them more often. He sees her hovering in the doorway and smiles up at her, closing his folder.

"What are you still doing here? I thought you had plans tonight?"

"Roads are closed" she sighs, taking a seat on the edge of his desk

"Guess I'll have to reschedule my date, again"

"He wasn't good enough for you anyways" he flirts

"Harvey you don't even know his name!" she chuckles

"Don't need to, to know he isn't good enough for you" he grins, beaming at her

"And let me guess, you'd be good enough for me?" she flirts back

"Well yes, but that's besides the point" he smirks. The pair had been working together for a few years and he absolutely adored the flirty banter they shared. Though nothing had ever happened between them, he wouldn't mind if it did. Donna was incredible, she was beautiful, smart and challenged him in ways most women would be afraid to. He knew better then to flirt with his secretary, especially when they had grown so close over the past few years, but he couldn't help himself if he was attracted to her.

He looks out the window again and takes in all the snow on the ground, "Looks like you're stuck with me for a little while" he says, unable to hold back his grin.

"Lucky me" she laughs.

Two hours and a bottle of scotch later the pair find themselves sitting on the floor of Harvey's office, Donna laughing at Harvey's impression of the Godfather. The snow seemed to have stopped so they decide they should try and hunt down a cab and head home. Waiting outside in the snow Harvey begins to grow inpatient at the lack of cars driving down the street as he paces back and forth waiting for a cab, while Donna waits near the door. He's about to give up and join her in her waiting spot when he feels something cold and wet hit the back of his neck, accompanied by Donna's giggles.

"You didn't just hit me with a snowball?!l" he questions, turning to face a Donna who is now laughing hysterically.

"What if I did?" she flirts

"Then it's so on!" he yells, scooping up some snow and firing it at her, the ball hitting her in the shoulder before it falls to the ground.

She chases after him with a snowball in hand, going after his perfectly gelled back hair do. Just as she reaches him and smushes the snowball into his hair he turns around and grabs on to her waist, swinging her around before scooping her up and holding her over a snow bank. She screams and pleas, begging him not to drop her into the snow bank beneath her. He's just about to throw her in when she reaches up and with one last plea places a gentle kiss on his cheek. He pauses and holds her gaze, putting her feet back on the ground seemingly in slow motion. She looks up at him, the want in her eyes mirroring his. He doesn't let go of her waist even though she is now standing firmly on the ground. She bats her eyelashes ever so slightly and he takes half a step closer to her, pressing her body against his. Her breath catches in her throat as she anticipates what's to come. He tilts his head down to kiss her and he's met with a nice chunk of snow to the face as she laughs and turns to run, Harvey chasing after her before both collapse into a pile of snow laughing. Neither address the moment that was shared between them, they just carry on as they normally would, flirting and tossing snow at each other before a cab finally appears down the street and they head their separate ways for the night. She never rescheduled the date she had for that night, she supposes it was a good thing.

"It is so on!" he calls at her after she hits him in the back with a snow ball and runs to duck behind his niece and nephew who can't help but laugh at the site of a snowy uncle Harvey. He chases after her, snowball in hand until he has her corned. He scoops her up in one fluent motion and holds her above a snow bank as she begs him to put her down.

"What do you think guys? Should I put aunt Donna down?" he asks the kids, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

"I think you should put aunt Donna down" she tries

"Oh, you do, do you?" he smirks

He gives in and puts her back on her feet, his hands lingering around her waist not wanting to let go just yet. She's batting those eyelashes at him, baiting him into taking a tiny step towards her, pressing her body against his. He watches as her breath catches in her throat, anticipating what's to come. He tilts his head down to kiss her and unlike years prior his lips met hers for a quick kiss.

"Now that I think about it, I guess I'm a pretty big fan of the snow" he says, smile growing up towards his ears as he and Donna take cover from the snowballs being hurled their way by the kids

Stay tuned for Chapter 13 - Specter Family Christmas Part 2!


	13. I Told You So Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! so here is Specter Family Christmas Part 2/3, enjoy!

Ch 13 – Dec 21st – Specter Family Christmas (Part 2/3)

The rest of the evening passes by relatively uneventful. Harvey excuses himself to call a client after lunch while Donna helps Katie wrap a few gifts. It's nearly time for dinner when Harvey returns carrying a massive box filled to the brim with cookie decorating supplies

"What's all this?" she asks

"I figured if you were going to participate in all of our families Christmas traditions, the least we could do is participate in one of your family's" he smiles and she moves to hug him

"Thank you, Harvey, this is incredibly sweet" she says as Marcus mumbles something that resembles "whipped" under his breath causing Katie to send a glare in his direction.

The rest of the evening is spent decorating gingerbread houses. Donna shows the kids how to use the icing to stick the gumdrops on to the roof and looks over to see Harvey incredibly focused on his masterpiece. She finds how serious he is taking decorating his house incredibly sweet, even thought she knows it's likely the result of the competitive streak in him. By the end of the night they have created enough gingerbread structures to construct a village. After completing his gingerbread house Harvey decided to make a gingerbread PSL which included a miniature version of himself that Donna couldn't stop laughing about.

"It looks just like you uncle Harvey!" his niece beams

"Common I'm better looking, right?" he mocks holding up the tiny gingerbread man next to his own face and looking to Donna as both kids are sent into a giggle fit.

"Hm it's a close call, that one" she gestures towards the gingerbread Harvey "looks pretty good to me" which only causes more laughter from the kids.

"On that note I think it's time to say goodnight kids" Katie declares, having decided they had probably had enough sugar for one night.

"Can uncle Harvey read us a story?" they beg, looking to Harvey

"Alright, but just one" he smiles following them towards the stairs. Before he leaves, he turns back to Donna and calls "If I'm not back in 15 minutes come find me, I want to take you somewhere"

He's almost done the second fairy tale when she heads to find him upstairs. He doesn't hear her come in so she leans against the door frame, listening to him act out the voices of each character as he reads the kids their bedtime story. Katie was right, she thinks to herself, he was so good with the kids, it appeared to come naturally to him. She listened as he finished to story and closed the book, then walked over to each child and wished them a good night while placing a sweet kiss on each of their foreheads. He's about to turn and head for the door when his niece stirs from her semi-asleep state.

"Uncle Harvey" she calls

"Yes sweetheart?" he kneels next to her bed

"Do you love aunt Donna?"

She's slightly shocked at such an intense question coming from such a small child, but the question doesn't seem to phase him as he replies, "I love her a lot kiddo"

"Okay good, because I want you to marry her" she says bluntly

"You do, do you? Want to know a secret? I want to marry her too" he whispers before tucking her in and heading towards the door.

Donna stays put, rooted in her spot in the hallway processing what Harvey just said. It shouldn't come as a surprise to her that he wants to spend his life with her, she just never pegged him as the kind of person to get married and settle down. Her stomach somersaults slightly at the idea, married, to Harvey Specter. She liked the sound of that. She smiles to herself, unable to contain her happiness much longer when he joins her in the hall.

"What are you doing out here?"

"I was just headed to find you, you said you wanted to take me somewhere?" she asks

"I do, grab your coat" he smiles ushering her in the direction of the door

"Where are we going?" she questions, wondering if she's dressed appropriately for whatever he has planned.

"The cemetery"

She doesn't need to question why he was taking her to the cemetery, her innate Donna-ness telling her why the instant he said it. They find themselves standing opposite his father's grave, the flowers they stopped to get in hand. He takes them from her and places them at the foot of his father's tombstone along with a shot glass that he fills with scotch and a small smile graces his face.

"Hey dad, there's someone here I want you to meet; well to re-meet, you've meet briefly before. But this time it's different because this wonderful women next to me has been the greatest thing in my life, like you've been telling me for years and well, I finally managed to make her mine" he smiles weakly as he pulls Donna into his side in a semi hug.

"I know you'd love her dad, just like I do, and I promise I'll try my best to make you proud by not screwing this one up" A tear now escapes her eye and rolls down her left cheek, the sentiment of what he's doing merely too much for her. She knew Gordon had always been a big fan of hers and watching Harvey stand here and tell his father all about how special she was too him made her heart swell. She squeezes his hand as they have a moment of silence for Harvey's father, and they wish him a Merry Christmas before heading back to the car. She silently thanks his father for raising such a wonderful man and she wishes he could be here to see how far Harvey had come over the past several years.

"Thank you, Harvey, for bringing me here, it means a lot to me to get to share this with you"

"I can't think of anyone else I'd rather share it with" he says as she rests her head upon his shoulder.

December 22nd

The following day is another quiet day filled with Christmas movies and baking. Marcus and Harvey head to the batting cages to hit some balls and Donna spends the day with Katie, Lily and the kids helping to prepare Christmas dinner. When the boys return the group heads out to go carolling (after some much needed convincing from Donna even Harvey reluctantly agrees to tag along) He's glad he came along because watching her face light up as she sings along to the music warms his heart. She becomes very invested in telling each story portrayed by the music and he understands why she loves theatre so much now; she's an incredible actress.

They're both exhausted from a day full of family events and are laying in bed nearly asleep when Donna's phone rings. Harvey sleepily reaches for it off the side table and answers it with a muffled "Hello?"

"Harvey?" Rachel questions from the other end

"Is Donna there?" she adds, clearly confused

Harvey nudges Donna awake from where she lays beside him and passes her the phone, which she takes and mumbles an equally unenthusiastic hello into.

"Hey Donna! I'm so sorry I didn't mean to wake you I figured 11 was still pretty early to call. Oh my god!" she suddenly exclaims "you guys weren't…. were you?"

"No! We wouldn't have answered the phone if we were" Donna replies, receiving a questioning gaze from Harvey

"Ok well I'll make it quick. Our plans fell through and we were wondering if you guys would like a couple visitors tomorrow night? We'll be in the area since were visiting my aunt today and we promise we'll be out of your hair by Christmas eve"

"Let me ask Harvey" Donna replies, looking over at Harvey who was still staring at her questioningly, obviously wondering what the two girls were discussing.

She covers the receiver and mouths to him "Mike and Rachel want to know if they can stop by tomorrow night and visit"

"Sure, I could use a break from family bonding time" he grins "Tell Mike to bring poker chips"

"Did you catch that Rach?" Donna asks, knowing her friend would be listening to their conversation

"I'll let him know" Rachel adds

"Oh, and Donna, I haven't told Mike that I was right yet, I was thinking it might be fun to watch him figure it out" she admits

"Figure what out?" Harvey chimes in as Donna gestures between the two of them, allowing Harvey to realize Rachel was referring to his relationship with Donna.

"Let's have some fun with the puppy" Donna winks at Harvey

"You don't have to ask me twice"" Harvey agrees

"I'll text you the address Rach, see you tomorrow" Donna says hanging up the phone and snuggling back into Harvey's side. He places a gentle kiss on her temple moves his thumb in small rhythmic circles across her lower back.

"I haven't heard you refer to Mike as a puppy in a while" he says

"I thought it was fitting, seeing as back then he was always one of our biggest fans" she replies as she begins to fall asleep.

December 23rd

"Family brunch consists of French toast and bacon and Harvey can't help but laugh while watching Donna once again drown her breakfast in syrup. He woke up in incredibly high spirits for someone who usually dreaded the holidays; and family bonding time. Having Donna here with him had made everything easier, including spending time with his mom and Bobby. He was so grateful for her calming presence, he wonders what he would've done without her here. He gives her leg a gentle squeeze beneath the table and sends her a knowing smile.

Lily comes back to the table with more coffee and some toppings for the French toast,

"Whip cream anyone?" she asks, causing Harvey's sweet smile to turn into a devilish grin

"Donna loves whip cream mom, I'm sure she'd love some" he beams, being met with a small swat on the leg beneath the table from Donna.

Lily passes her the container and she accepts it with a smile, not wanting to protest or give Harvey the satisfaction he wanted by eliciting a flirty remark from her. Instead she sits with a tight-lipped grin and puts a drop of whipped cream on top of her breakfast.

"What, no flirty remark?" he whispers to her

"Wouldn't want to give you the satisfaction" she whispers back. He grabs at his chest like his words have wounded him and she adds, "You can't always get what you want" with a small wink.

The pair help clear the plates, and Harvey stops Donna as she walks through the door on her way to collect more plates.

"Would you look at that Ms Paulsen, it appears your standing under the mistletoe, I think that means you owe me a kiss" he remarks. She looks at him playfully, grin plastered across his face proud of himself for knowingly stopping her beneath the mistletoe he was well aware was in that door way after their previous visit.

"I don't make the rules" he adds. He can't help himself from grinning, he had been planning on stopping her under the mistletoe since they came downstairs for breakfast, looking for any excuse to kiss her.

"I wouldn't want to break the rules" she smiles up at him as he tilts his head down and kisses her. The kiss is much more chaste then the previous kiss they shared in this exact spot, but still makes her dizzy with desire.

Mike and Rachel arrive shortly after dinner, poker chips in hand. Harvey gives them a tour of the house and introduces them to his family, who are just beginning to watch Rudolph in the living room.

Marcus gets up to greet them and looks at Mike "So you're the unlucky one that's stuck with this dickhead all the time"

"That's what they call me, the unlucky one" Mike chuckles

"Man, you're gonna have to tell me your secret one day, he's only been here a few days and I'm ready to kick him to the curb"

""The trick is to just tune him out and throw in the odd movie quote" Mike jokes

"Alright, we'll be in the dining room if anyone needs us" Harvey interrupts steering the group towards the other room, the last thing he needs is these two getting along while making fun of him.

Rachel looks to Donna, "Wow, and I thought Mike was a mini Harvey" she laughs, looping her arm through Donna's and following the boys toward the dining room.

"Do we need to teach you two how to play?" Harvey teases, raising his eyebrow ever so slightly at the girls

"Please, Michelle Ross and Harriet Specter are ready to wipe the floor with you two" Donna flirts

"Who?" Mike asks, slightly taken back by the nicknames the girls are clearly comfortable with using; which is ironic now that Rachel actually is a Ross, and he wouldn't be surprised if sometime in the near future Donna became a Specter based on the way her and Harvey were making eyes at each other from across the table.

"Don't worry about it" Rachel grins, giggling with Donna as Harvey deals the cards.

Donna sends Harvey a look and he gives her a small nod in return, it's time to have some fun with Mike.

"Does anyone need another drink?" Donna asks, getting up and rounding the table towards Harvey and the kitchen.

"I'll take one" Rachel smiles

"Harvey?" she asks as she lets her hand settle on his shoulder, now standing next to him

He looks up at her, clearly stopping to take in every inch of her until his eyes meet hers, "I'd love one" he says

She moves towards the kitchen letting her hand linger across Harvey's shoulder as she walks away, a lingering touch that is far to daring to be shared between friends. She watches as Mike looks from her hand to Rachel; who is hiding behind her cards in attempt not to laugh at what her friends are doing to Mike. There's a questioning look on Mike's face that tells her what they're doing is working. That poor puppy is looks so confused, his brain must hurt.

Mike watches as Donna's hand lingers across Harvey's back. Rachel had suggested to him that the pair might have moved past pretending and actually begun dating but he wasn't convinced. That is until he watched them practically undress the other with only their eyes and now this. He hadn't seen the pair come in contact with one another, well ever. Come to think of it he doesn't ever recall even seeing them hug. Maybe Rachel was on to something, he thinks. Maybe this wasn't a game of pretend after all.

Donna returns with a few glasses, Marcus in tow carrying a bottle of scotch. She could have easily made two trips, but she knew having Marcus in the room would be the perfect excuse for her and Harvey to act couple-y – which would hopefully confuse Mike further. It seemed childish to play this game, they were adults for god's sake, but it was merely too much fun to toy with Mike since he had been such a Harvey-Donna fan from the moment they brought him in years ago.

She reaches over Harvey and places his glass in front of him on the table and he tilts his head back to kiss her on the lips sweetly with an added "Thanks babe" She watches as Mike's eyes nearly bulge out of his head and does her best to keep a straight face as she moves to hand Rachel her glass and take a seat.

"Thanks for the help Marcus" she smiles at him

"These two crazy love birds, I'm telling you I've never seen this one be so unable to keep his hands to himself" he rolls his eyes at Harvey as he leaves the room heading back to his wife and kids.

Mike nearly chokes on his drink at Marcus' comment, unable to picture Harvey being involved in any form of PDA. He tries his best to get his thoughts together and turns from Harvey to Donna, "Umm.. you two have anything to share with the group?"

"You know we told my family we're together, had to keep up the illusion with Marcus in the room" he says rather convincingly. Mike is skeptical, but he decides he'll buy it for now, though he's beginning to see what Rachel saw that night at Harvey's apartment. Harvey may have kissed Donna rather innocently, but there was no hiding the spark the kiss contained from anyone in the room.

After a few games, Mike winning the first; followed by Harvey warning him to stop counting the cards, and Donna surprisingly winning the second, Mike and Harvey head to the kitchen to grab everyone drinks and snacks.

Rachel takes the opportunity to turn to Donna, a huge smile plastered across her face, "Wasn't I right?! That was fun"

"It really was" she agrees

"I'm really happy for you two" Rachel coos, "I don't think I've ever seen Harvey so happy when he's losing" she adds referring to the card game.

"Thanks Rach" Donna smiles

"How's spending time with the family been?" Rachel asks

"It's been amazing. They're incredibly sweet and Harvey even managed to surprise me and include one of my family's traditions" she grins

"Who knew, Harvey Specter has a sentimental side" Rachel jokes

"Sooo" Rachel begins, getting to what she's been dying to ask her best friend since the moment she found out about her new relationship, "how was it?"

"Rachel!" Donna exclaims

"Oh common, I just want to know if the man lives up to all the hype. Was it better then you remembered?" she giggles

"I didn't think it was possible it could be better" she pauses, "But yes, mind-blowingly better" she teases giving in to what her friend wants to hear.

"Ah!" Rachel shouts and both girls start to laugh as Mike and Harvey come back into the room with the refreshments.

"What's so funny?" Mike asks

"Just some girl talk" Rachel giggles as Mike looks to Harvey, "That is never a good sign" he says and is met by a quizzical look from Harvey

"Dude, girls talk" he adds, hoping Harvey will pick up on the fact his wife and Donna were likely discussing all the details of the last few days of their time with his family. What Mike doesn't realize is although he's right, the girls weren't discussing were things he assumed to be a big deal; like that kiss he witnessed.

Harvey looks across the table to Rachel and Donna, "All good things, right?"

"Only the best" Donna flirts as Mike deals the cards out to begin a new game.

The play a few more games until they get sick of Harvey's constant winning and Mike and Rachel decide to call it a night. Mike pulls Harvey aside as the girl's pack up the poker chips

"You should tell her you know, if you haven't already" he says to Harvey

"What?" Harvey looks at him confusion playing at his features.

"Tell Donna how you feel" Mike encourages

Harvey can't take it anymore, as fun as it was to tease Mike tonight, the kid's heart was in the right place and he knew Mike cared about his and Donna's happiness. He knows she'll be okay with Mike knowing since Rachel knows and the past week has been going incredibly well for them.

"She knows" he smiles

"What do you mean?" Mike asks

"I mean, she knows that I love her" Harvey says loud enough to get both Rachel and Donna's attention, "That I'm in love with her" he corrects himself

Donna smiles at Rachel's awe's and makes her way over to Harvey, slipping her fingers between his and looking up to take in Mike's open jaw reaction,

"Well it's about time!" he exclaims pulling his two friends in for a hug.

"Only took you a million years to get your shit together" he teases Harvey as he releases them from the hug.

"I'd say more like 13" he laughs as they see their friends out.

"I hate to say this Harvey but, I TOLD YOU SO!" he smirks referring to the comment he'd made a few weeks prior about the two of them returning from their trip madly in love.

Thanks so much for reading guys! I promise Part 3 only gets better! As always there's a lot more fun stuff coming your way and I'd love to hear what you think :)

(I also had to sneak in my inspiration for the title haha!)Hey guys! so here is Specter Family Christmas Part 2/3, enjoy!

Ch 13 – Dec 21st – Specter Family Christmas (Part 2/3)

The rest of the evening passes by relatively uneventful. Harvey excuses himself to call a client after lunch while Donna helps Katie wrap a few gifts. It's nearly time for dinner when Harvey returns carrying a massive box filled to the brim with cookie decorating supplies

"What's all this?" she asks

"I figured if you were going to participate in all of our families Christmas traditions, the least we could do is participate in one of your family's" he smiles and she moves to hug him

"Thank you, Harvey, this is incredibly sweet" she says as Marcus mumbles something that resembles "whipped" under his breath causing Katie to send a glare in his direction.

The rest of the evening is spent decorating gingerbread houses. Donna shows the kids how to use the icing to stick the gumdrops on to the roof and looks over to see Harvey incredibly focused on his masterpiece. She finds how serious he is taking decorating his house incredibly sweet, even thought she knows it's likely the result of the competitive streak in him. By the end of the night they have created enough gingerbread structures to construct a village. After completing his gingerbread house Harvey decided to make a gingerbread PSL which included a miniature version of himself that Donna couldn't stop laughing about.

"It looks just like you uncle Harvey!" his niece beams

"Common I'm better looking, right?" he mocks holding up the tiny gingerbread man next to his own face and looking to Donna as both kids are sent into a giggle fit.

"Hm it's a close call, that one" she gestures towards the gingerbread Harvey "looks pretty good to me" which only causes more laughter from the kids.

"On that note I think it's time to say goodnight kids" Katie declares, having decided they had probably had enough sugar for one night.

"Can uncle Harvey read us a story?" they beg, looking to Harvey

"Alright, but just one" he smiles following them towards the stairs. Before he leaves, he turns back to Donna and calls "If I'm not back in 15 minutes come find me, I want to take you somewhere"

He's almost done the second fairy tale when she heads to find him upstairs. He doesn't hear her come in so she leans against the door frame, listening to him act out the voices of each character as he reads the kids their bedtime story. Katie was right, she thinks to herself, he was so good with the kids, it appeared to come naturally to him. She listened as he finished to story and closed the book, then walked over to each child and wished them a good night while placing a sweet kiss on each of their foreheads. He's about to turn and head for the door when his niece stirs from her semi-asleep state.

"Uncle Harvey" she calls

"Yes sweetheart?" he kneels next to her bed

"Do you love aunt Donna?"

She's slightly shocked at such an intense question coming from such a small child, but the question doesn't seem to phase him as he replies, "I love her a lot kiddo"

"Okay good, because I want you to marry her" she says bluntly

"You do, do you? Want to know a secret? I want to marry her too" he whispers before tucking her in and heading towards the door.

Donna stays put, rooted in her spot in the hallway processing what Harvey just said. It shouldn't come as a surprise to her that he wants to spend his life with her, she just never pegged him as the kind of person to get married and settle down. Her stomach somersaults slightly at the idea, married, to Harvey Specter. She liked the sound of that. She smiles to herself, unable to contain her happiness much longer when he joins her in the hall.

"What are you doing out here?"

"I was just headed to find you, you said you wanted to take me somewhere?" she asks

"I do, grab your coat" he smiles ushering her in the direction of the door

"Where are we going?" she questions, wondering if she's dressed appropriately for whatever he has planned.

"The cemetery"

She doesn't need to question why he was taking her to the cemetery, her innate Donna-ness telling her why the instant he said it. They find themselves standing opposite his father's grave, the flowers they stopped to get in hand. He takes them from her and places them at the foot of his father's tombstone along with a shot glass that he fills with scotch and a small smile graces his face.

"Hey dad, there's someone here I want you to meet; well to re-meet, you've meet briefly before. But this time it's different because this wonderful women next to me has been the greatest thing in my life, like you've been telling me for years and well, I finally managed to make her mine" he smiles weakly as he pulls Donna into his side in a semi hug.

"I know you'd love her dad, just like I do, and I promise I'll try my best to make you proud by not screwing this one up" A tear now escapes her eye and rolls down her left cheek, the sentiment of what he's doing merely too much for her. She knew Gordon had always been a big fan of hers and watching Harvey stand here and tell his father all about how special she was too him made her heart swell. She squeezes his hand as they have a moment of silence for Harvey's father, and they wish him a Merry Christmas before heading back to the car. She silently thanks his father for raising such a wonderful man and she wishes he could be here to see how far Harvey had come over the past several years.

"Thank you, Harvey, for bringing me here, it means a lot to me to get to share this with you"

"I can't think of anyone else I'd rather share it with" he says as she rests her head upon his shoulder.

December 22nd

The following day is another quiet day filled with Christmas movies and baking. Marcus and Harvey head to the batting cages to hit some balls and Donna spends the day with Katie, Lily and the kids helping to prepare Christmas dinner. When the boys return the group heads out to go carolling (after some much needed convincing from Donna even Harvey reluctantly agrees to tag along) He's glad he came along because watching her face light up as she sings along to the music warms his heart. She becomes very invested in telling each story portrayed by the music and he understands why she loves theatre so much now; she's an incredible actress.

They're both exhausted from a day full of family events and are laying in bed nearly asleep when Donna's phone rings. Harvey sleepily reaches for it off the side table and answers it with a muffled "Hello?"

"Harvey?" Rachel questions from the other end

"Is Donna there?" she adds, clearly confused

Harvey nudges Donna awake from where she lays beside him and passes her the phone, which she takes and mumbles an equally unenthusiastic hello into.

"Hey Donna! I'm so sorry I didn't mean to wake you I figured 11 was still pretty early to call. Oh my god!" she suddenly exclaims "you guys weren't…. were you?"

"No! We wouldn't have answered the phone if we were" Donna replies, receiving a questioning gaze from Harvey

"Ok well I'll make it quick. Our plans fell through and we were wondering if you guys would like a couple visitors tomorrow night? We'll be in the area since were visiting my aunt today and we promise we'll be out of your hair by Christmas eve"

"Let me ask Harvey" Donna replies, looking over at Harvey who was still staring at her questioningly, obviously wondering what the two girls were discussing.

She covers the receiver and mouths to him "Mike and Rachel want to know if they can stop by tomorrow night and visit"

"Sure, I could use a break from family bonding time" he grins "Tell Mike to bring poker chips"

"Did you catch that Rach?" Donna asks, knowing her friend would be listening to their conversation

"I'll let him know" Rachel adds

"Oh, and Donna, I haven't told Mike that I was right yet, I was thinking it might be fun to watch him figure it out" she admits

"Figure what out?" Harvey chimes in as Donna gestures between the two of them, allowing Harvey to realize Rachel was referring to his relationship with Donna.

"Let's have some fun with the puppy" Donna winks at Harvey

"You don't have to ask me twice"" Harvey agrees

"I'll text you the address Rach, see you tomorrow" Donna says hanging up the phone and snuggling back into Harvey's side. He places a gentle kiss on her temple moves his thumb in small rhythmic circles across her lower back.

"I haven't heard you refer to Mike as a puppy in a while" he says

"I thought it was fitting, seeing as back then he was always one of our biggest fans" she replies as she begins to fall asleep.

December 23rd

"Family brunch consists of French toast and bacon and Harvey can't help but laugh while watching Donna once again drown her breakfast in syrup. He woke up in incredibly high spirits for someone who usually dreaded the holidays; and family bonding time. Having Donna here with him had made everything easier, including spending time with his mom and Bobby. He was so grateful for her calming presence, he wonders what he would've done without her here. He gives her leg a gentle squeeze beneath the table and sends her a knowing smile.

Lily comes back to the table with more coffee and some toppings for the French toast,

"Whip cream anyone?" she asks, causing Harvey's sweet smile to turn into a devilish grin

"Donna loves whip cream mom, I'm sure she'd love some" he beams, being met with a small swat on the leg beneath the table from Donna.

Lily passes her the container and she accepts it with a smile, not wanting to protest or give Harvey the satisfaction he wanted by eliciting a flirty remark from her. Instead she sits with a tight-lipped grin and puts a drop of whipped cream on top of her breakfast.

"What, no flirty remark?" he whispers to her

"Wouldn't want to give you the satisfaction" she whispers back. He grabs at his chest like his words have wounded him and she adds, "You can't always get what you want" with a small wink.

The pair help clear the plates, and Harvey stops Donna as she walks through the door on her way to collect more plates.

"Would you look at that Ms Paulsen, it appears your standing under the mistletoe, I think that means you owe me a kiss" he remarks. She looks at him playfully, grin plastered across his face proud of himself for knowingly stopping her beneath the mistletoe he was well aware was in that door way after their previous visit.

"I don't make the rules" he adds. He can't help himself from grinning, he had been planning on stopping her under the mistletoe since they came downstairs for breakfast, looking for any excuse to kiss her.

"I wouldn't want to break the rules" she smiles up at him as he tilts his head down and kisses her. The kiss is much more chaste then the previous kiss they shared in this exact spot, but still makes her dizzy with desire.

Mike and Rachel arrive shortly after dinner, poker chips in hand. Harvey gives them a tour of the house and introduces them to his family, who are just beginning to watch Rudolph in the living room.

Marcus gets up to greet them and looks at Mike "So you're the unlucky one that's stuck with this dickhead all the time"

"That's what they call me, the unlucky one" Mike chuckles

"Man, you're gonna have to tell me your secret one day, he's only been here a few days and I'm ready to kick him to the curb"

""The trick is to just tune him out and throw in the odd movie quote" Mike jokes

"Alright, we'll be in the dining room if anyone needs us" Harvey interrupts steering the group towards the other room, the last thing he needs is these two getting along while making fun of him.

Rachel looks to Donna, "Wow, and I thought Mike was a mini Harvey" she laughs, looping her arm through Donna's and following the boys toward the dining room.

"Do we need to teach you two how to play?" Harvey teases, raising his eyebrow ever so slightly at the girls

"Please, Michelle Ross and Harriet Specter are ready to wipe the floor with you two" Donna flirts

"Who?" Mike asks, slightly taken back by the nicknames the girls are clearly comfortable with using; which is ironic now that Rachel actually is a Ross, and he wouldn't be surprised if sometime in the near future Donna became a Specter based on the way her and Harvey were making eyes at each other from across the table.

"Don't worry about it" Rachel grins, giggling with Donna as Harvey deals the cards.

Donna sends Harvey a look and he gives her a small nod in return, it's time to have some fun with Mike.

"Does anyone need another drink?" Donna asks, getting up and rounding the table towards Harvey and the kitchen.

"I'll take one" Rachel smiles

"Harvey?" she asks as she lets her hand settle on his shoulder, now standing next to him

He looks up at her, clearly stopping to take in every inch of her until his eyes meet hers, "I'd love one" he says

She moves towards the kitchen letting her hand linger across Harvey's shoulder as she walks away, a lingering touch that is far to daring to be shared between friends. She watches as Mike looks from her hand to Rachel; who is hiding behind her cards in attempt not to laugh at what her friends are doing to Mike. There's a questioning look on Mike's face that tells her what they're doing is working. That poor puppy is looks so confused, his brain must hurt.

Mike watches as Donna's hand lingers across Harvey's back. Rachel had suggested to him that the pair might have moved past pretending and actually begun dating but he wasn't convinced. That is until he watched them practically undress the other with only their eyes and now this. He hadn't seen the pair come in contact with one another, well ever. Come to think of it he doesn't ever recall even seeing them hug. Maybe Rachel was on to something, he thinks. Maybe this wasn't a game of pretend after all.

Donna returns with a few glasses, Marcus in tow carrying a bottle of scotch. She could have easily made two trips, but she knew having Marcus in the room would be the perfect excuse for her and Harvey to act couple-y – which would hopefully confuse Mike further. It seemed childish to play this game, they were adults for god's sake, but it was merely too much fun to toy with Mike since he had been such a Harvey-Donna fan from the moment they brought him in years ago.

She reaches over Harvey and places his glass in front of him on the table and he tilts his head back to kiss her on the lips sweetly with an added "Thanks babe" She watches as Mike's eyes nearly bulge out of his head and does her best to keep a straight face as she moves to hand Rachel her glass and take a seat.

"Thanks for the help Marcus" she smiles at him

"These two crazy love birds, I'm telling you I've never seen this one be so unable to keep his hands to himself" he rolls his eyes at Harvey as he leaves the room heading back to his wife and kids.

Mike nearly chokes on his drink at Marcus' comment, unable to picture Harvey being involved in any form of PDA. He tries his best to get his thoughts together and turns from Harvey to Donna, "Umm.. you two have anything to share with the group?"

"You know we told my family we're together, had to keep up the illusion with Marcus in the room" he says rather convincingly. Mike is skeptical, but he decides he'll buy it for now, though he's beginning to see what Rachel saw that night at Harvey's apartment. Harvey may have kissed Donna rather innocently, but there was no hiding the spark the kiss contained from anyone in the room.

After a few games, Mike winning the first; followed by Harvey warning him to stop counting the cards, and Donna surprisingly winning the second, Mike and Harvey head to the kitchen to grab everyone drinks and snacks.

Rachel takes the opportunity to turn to Donna, a huge smile plastered across her face, "Wasn't I right?! That was fun"

"It really was" she agrees

"I'm really happy for you two" Rachel coos, "I don't think I've ever seen Harvey so happy when he's losing" she adds referring to the card game.

"Thanks Rach" Donna smiles

"How's spending time with the family been?" Rachel asks

"It's been amazing. They're incredibly sweet and Harvey even managed to surprise me and include one of my family's traditions" she grins

"Who knew, Harvey Specter has a sentimental side" Rachel jokes

"Sooo" Rachel begins, getting to what she's been dying to ask her best friend since the moment she found out about her new relationship, "how was it?"

"Rachel!" Donna exclaims

"Oh common, I just want to know if the man lives up to all the hype. Was it better then you remembered?" she giggles

"I didn't think it was possible it could be better" she pauses, "But yes, mind-blowingly better" she teases giving in to what her friend wants to hear.

"Ah!" Rachel shouts and both girls start to laugh as Mike and Harvey come back into the room with the refreshments.

"What's so funny?" Mike asks

"Just some girl talk" Rachel giggles as Mike looks to Harvey, "That is never a good sign" he says and is met by a quizzical look from Harvey

"Dude, girls talk" he adds, hoping Harvey will pick up on the fact his wife and Donna were likely discussing all the details of the last few days of their time with his family. What Mike doesn't realize is although he's right, the girls weren't discussing were things he assumed to be a big deal; like that kiss he witnessed.

Harvey looks across the table to Rachel and Donna, "All good things, right?"

"Only the best" Donna flirts as Mike deals the cards out to begin a new game.

The play a few more games until they get sick of Harvey's constant winning and Mike and Rachel decide to call it a night. Mike pulls Harvey aside as the girl's pack up the poker chips

"You should tell her you know, if you haven't already" he says to Harvey

"What?" Harvey looks at him confusion playing at his features.

"Tell Donna how you feel" Mike encourages

Harvey can't take it anymore, as fun as it was to tease Mike tonight, the kid's heart was in the right place and he knew Mike cared about his and Donna's happiness. He knows she'll be okay with Mike knowing since Rachel knows and the past week has been going incredibly well for them.

"She knows" he smiles

"What do you mean?" Mike asks

"I mean, she knows that I love her" Harvey says loud enough to get both Rachel and Donna's attention, "That I'm in love with her" he corrects himself

Donna smiles at Rachel's awe's and makes her way over to Harvey, slipping her fingers between his and looking up to take in Mike's open jaw reaction,

"Well it's about time!" he exclaims pulling his two friends in for a hug.

"Only took you a million years to get your shit together" he teases Harvey as he releases them from the hug.

"I'd say more like 13" he laughs as they see their friends out.

"I hate to say this Harvey but, I TOLD YOU SO!" he smirks referring to the comment he'd made a few weeks prior about the two of them returning from their trip madly in love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading guys! I promise Part 3 only gets better! As always there's a lot more fun stuff coming your way and I'd love to hear what you think :)
> 
> (I also had to sneak in my inspiration for the title haha!)


	14. I Told You So Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's Part 3 of Specter Family Christmas! Enjoy xx

Ch 14 – Dec 24th – Specter Family Christmas (Part 3)

"Good morning beautiful" he whispers pulling her closer to him beneath the covers, breathing in her familiar vanilla scent as he places a gentle kiss on her temple.

"What do you want to do today?" he asks

"I was thinking…" she grins mischievously, already knowing he won't be a fan of what she has in mind

"what if we baked some cookies"

He can't stand baking and she knows it, but being a true gentleman, and in the spirit of the season he agrees.

They had decided a few days prior that they would exchange gifts today since they were headed back to the city on Christmas day. She smiles at the thought of him opening what she'd gotten for him. Lily had been a huge help and she can't believe the two of them managed to get his gift together in only a few days. She's tempted to give it to him now but decides to wait for a better time. Besides, she doesn't want to leave her spot in his arms just yet. She is awestruck at how incredible the past few days had been. Not only was Harvey getting along well with his family, but the two of them seemed to just click as a couple. They had seemingly stepped into a comfortable routine that took most couples months to find, likely a result of the long term friendship that lead them to this point. They had somehow managed to resolve all of their issues from the past decade within a week. It turns out that once one of them opened up and was honest about their feelings, the rest came easily. She can hardly believe the Harvey holding her so closely is the same Harvey that once failed to tell her how he loved her. She closes her eyes taking it all in. This was real, they were really here, spending the holidays together.

"You can run but you can't hide" Harvey calls out, searching the kitchen and living room for Donna who is hiding from his spatula covered in cookie dough.

What started out as a romantic afternoon of baking had turned into a full pledged food fight. Harvey just couldn't help himself from smearing chocolate across Donna's nose as she taste tested the dough, and she was happy to retaliate by rubbing cookie dough into Harvey's hair. The pair was now engaged in a rather intense game of hide and seek, the loser likely to be covered in baking supplies.

She sneaks up behind him as he searches the kitchen for her and reaches around him to smear chocolate across his face with a laugh. She turns to quickly get away, but he quickly has her caught between his arms. She turns to face him as the two of them collapse into a laughing fit, the thought of their childish war finally hitting them. They sink to the floor leaning back against the kitchen counter trying to catch their breath.

"I don't think I've ever enjoyed baking as much as that" he grins

"That's because you've never baked with me" she says matter-of-factly

"Hmm, maybe we should do it more often"

"Careful with those words Mr, I'm going to hold you to that commitment" she says

"I think I can handle it" he flashes her a toothy smile

"Harvey Specter, handling commitment, who could've seen that coming" she teases

"Guess you have that effect on me" he admits, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small box, "speaking of effects you have on me"

She eyes the box curiously from her spot next to him on the floor. She would recognize that unmistakable blue anywhere, Tiffany's. The realization hits her all at once, slamming into her and leaving her near breathless. He wasn't seriously proposing to her? Was he? They'd barely begun dating and even though they both knew it was going well, they couldn't possibly be at this stage already, could they? She did overhear him say he wanted to marry her. Her thoughts are racing, matching her elevated pulse and he must sense the panic in her eyes because he grabs her hand and quickly exclaims,

"I didn't even realize what this looks like!"

"I'm not proposing to you Donna; though I wouldn't mind doing so one day, just umm… down the road" he stutters in clear panic. He hadn't realized that his timing combined with the small blue box he was holding would come across the way it had, otherwise he would have gone about this differently. He watches as her face relaxes into a timid smile and he feels himself relax along with her.

"It's no engagement ring, but um open it" he mumbles placing the box in her palm.

She opens the box and peers inside to find a stunning yet simple silver Tiffany band. She picks it up and turns it over, revealing a small date engraved along the outside. Her smiles widens as she takes in what is engraved along the band, it's the anniversary of the day she came to work for him.

"Harvey, this is… this is beautiful" she says, sliding the ring onto her index finger; a perfect fit.

"Merry Christmas Donna" he whispers as he leans in to kiss her.

After cleaning up the mess they made while baking, the pair head upstairs to get ready for Christmas dinner.

She's rummaging through her suitcase looking for a sweater when Harvey comes back from his shower and takes a seat on the end of the bed. He watches as she tosses garments aside, presumably looking for a specific top.

"Would you have said yes?" he asks softly, unable to help himself from asking what he had been wondering all afternoon. He didn't mean for her to think he was proposing when he gave her the gift, but the panicked look on her face makes him wonder what she would have said had he have asked.

She pauses, stopping the rummaging through her suitcase and turns to face him. She knew something had been on his mind this afternoon and had been waiting for the shoe to drop.

"What?"

"Would you have said yes? If it was an engagement ring in that box" he tries again

She smiles softly at him and takes a seat next to him, "I don't know" she admits

His face falls at her answer and he tries not to let her words get to him, at least not while she's around. She notices his silence and continues

"It's not that I wouldn't want to Harvey, it's just, isn't it a little soon?"

"I guess so" he says

"I'm not saying that I wouldn't want to marry you, in fact I would love to marry you someday" she says, "I just want to get to date you for a while first"

"You don't have to explain Donna, I agree it's too soon, which is why I didn't propose to you" he winks, confidence now re-instated after she mentioned she would marry him someday. He never intended on even having this conversation so soon, and he had no plans of proposing to her (yet anyways), he just couldn't not ask what her answer would have been.

"So, it's settled we're not getting married" she jokes back

"Well not yet anyways" he smirks

She goes back to her sweater hunt, grinning like an idiot. Leave it to Harvey to diffuse a serious conversation; that they didn't need to be having and make her smile. In a weird way, she's glad he asked the question, but more pleased they're on the same page. She wasn't lying when she said she'd love to marry him someday, start a family and everything that comes with it, and she knows what she told Harvey was the right thing to say, but deep down she knows what she would have said if it had been an engagement ring in that box; yes, yes, a million times yes!

"We can't tell you how grateful we are to have you all here with us today to celebrate the holiday's" Marcus begins his toast at dinner, "Mom, Bobby, Katie and I are so grateful for everything you do for us and the kids. Katie, I don't know how you do it but somehow you manage to put up with me and still have time to deal with these knuckleheads" he nods at his kids who giggle. "Dad, I know you're out there watching over us and we miss you every day" Donna takes Harvey's hand under the table and gives it a small squeeze, knowing how much he would love to have his father present tonight. "And finally, to my big brother, we're so glad you finally made it home for the holiday's, and we're even happier you brought this wonderful women along with you" he gestures towards Donna causing her cheeks to redden.

"To family" Marcus concludes his toast raising his glass and waiting for the others to follow suit before they begin their meal.

After dinner Harvey and Marcus help their mother with the dishes, while Katie and Bobby go to put the kids to bed. While everyone is occupied Donna takes the opportunity to bring Harvey's gift into the bedroom, so he'll find it when they return later. She stops to fix her lipstick in the mirror when she hears to door begin to open.

"Hiding?" he teases, looking behind her to the canvas that was perched against the bed, his eyes lighting up.

She follows his gaze to the painting that sat at the foot of the bed and watches his eyes light up as he takes in what is portrayed on the canvas. The painting resembles the one that used to hang in his office, however in place of his mother painting a duck, sits his father playing his guitar, a young Harvey still looking on to the scene from his seat on the floor. He can hardly comprehend what he's looking at. The painting was clearly the work of his mother though it depicted a young Harvey and his father. He blinks back the tears forming at the corner of his eyes.

"Donna… how?"

She cuts him off before he can finish, "I asked your mother if she could do one to replace the one in your office and she suggested you might like this one instead" she smiles

"This is…. Thank you" he manages as he pulls her in for a hug, holding her against his chest as he runs his hands through her hair and places a delicate kiss on her forehead.

"Merry Christmas, Harvey"

The following morning is a whirlwind of wrapping paper, presents and laughter. The morning is come and gone in an instant and before they know it it's time to hit the road and head back to the city. Harvey thanks Marcus for having them and promises he'll be back to visit soon before he begins to load the bags into the car. Donna hugs Marcus and Katie goodbye, thanking them for their hospitality and then hugs Lily goodbye. Before she can turn and head to the car Lily whispers into her ear,

"Thank you"

"For what?" Donna asks her, slight confusion lingering in her voice

"For loving my son" she smiles, and with that Donna heads to the car and climbs into the front seat next to Harvey. As she buckles up her seatbelt the light catches her ring and he smiles to himself at the fact she's wearing it. She smiles at him as he begins to pull away, a doe-eyed look plastered across her face.

"What?" he laughs noticing how she is looking at him.

"I'm just really glad we got to spend the holidays with your family"

"Me too" he agrees

"Now back to work. You know since Mike and Rachel already know, do we really want to keep this a secret at the office?"

She pauses to contemplate. She supposes there isn't any harm in anyone knowing now that she's confident their relationship isn't going anywhere, but she feels like she owes it to Louis to tell him directly; rather than him hearing it from some associate.

"I guess not. Just let me tell Louis first, okay?" she asks

"Alright" he nods. His heart races in his chest at the notion of not having to hide his feelings for her. He'd done enough hiding over the last 13 years, he loved Donna Paulsen and he didn't care who knew it!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there we have Specter Family Christmas! Stay tuned for Ch 15 - 'Something Wicked This Way Comes', and as promised one LITT new years eve party!
> 
> I hope you enjoyed the family Christmas, I would love to hear your thoughts!


	15. I Told You So - Chapter 15

Ch 15 – December 26th – Something Wicked This Way Comes

He finds her up on the roof, looking over the skyline.

"What do you mean by you want everything?" he shouts at her

"I told you I don't know!" she shouts back

"WELL I CAN'T GIVE YOU EVERYTHIING!" he screams

"Who says I want everything with YOU?!" she challenges

"I don't know what you want from me Donna" he sighs, exhausted from having the same fight day in and day out.

"Just go Harvey"

"Donna"

"JUST GO!"

"Donna, what do you want me to say here, how can I make this better?" he tries again

"Love me how, Harvey?" she says, voice defeated

"This again? Why does it always come back to this, I thought we were passed this"

"Yes, this again! It always comes back to this because you still can't tell me, CAN YOU?!" she shouts at him, riddled with anger, fear and pure exhaustion.

"Donna I…." he tries to tell her, to put into words what he feels for her, but he can't. He stands rooted in his spot, frozen as she storms past him mumbling "That's what I thought"

"I am so sick of watching you fight for everything that happens here" she gestures to the firm, "and nothing that happens in here" she points a finger at his chest.

He shoots up in bed, looking around her sees her curled up beside him. It was just a dream he tells himself. He looks around her room taking in the decorations. Though he'd been to her place before he hadn't spent the night in years and she'd since redecorated. He rolls over to find her looking at him and he's startled; he didn't thin she'd be awake so early.

"You had a nightmare?" she questions

"How did you..?"

"You were tossing and turning, I just assumed. What was it about?" she asks

He considers lying but figures it would be best just to tell the truth and admits, "Fighting with you"

"Couples can fight you know?"

"I know, I guess I'm just mad at myself for the way I handled some things over the years" he sighs

She tilts his head up towards hers forcing him to hold her gaze, "We both mishandled situations in the past. But we can't go back and change it now, so there's no point in dwelling on it. Besides, we're here now" she smiles

He takes her in and places a small grateful kiss on her lips before getting up to get ready for work. He pokes his head out of the bathroom and calls to her as she's still wrapped up in the covers in bed.

"You know I'm trying this new environmentally conscious thing, care to join me in the shower and save water?" he says through his Cheshire cat grin.

"I do consider myself an environmentalist" she smirks getting up to join him before they begin their work day.

The office isn't particularly busy since most of the staff are still on holiday's so Donna is surprised to find Rachel at her desk when she finally arrives at work.

"Late night?" Rachel mocks with a raised eyebrow

Donna rolls her eyes ever so slightly and shoos Rachel out of her seat, "Good morning to you to Rach"

"How was your Christmas Donna?" "Oh it was great Rachel" Donna jokingly says in conversation with herself.

"I'm sorry, how was your Christmas Donna?" Rachel asks

"God Rachel you're so nosey today!" Donna teases, laughing as Rachel tries to protest her initial statement, even though she knows her friend is only messing with her.

"It was really nice" Donna answers the question, "How was yours"

"It was lovely, very low key, just my parents and Mike. My god I couldn't shut Mike up about how he was right, and he knew you too couldn't handle pretending the entire car ride home that night. You'd think the boy discovered fire or something"

"Well I mean, we are this firms new power couple" she smirks at the thought.

"So, you guys decided to tell people?" Rachel questions

"We will, after I tell Louis" Donna reassures her friend.

"Better make it soon, you'd have to be blind not to see the way you two look at each other" she giggles

"Oh common Rach, you make it seem like were two teenagers who have never been in love before"

"If the shoe fits" Rachel teases being met by a playful swat in the arm.

"Let me see your hand" Rachel motions to the right hand that Donna just swatted her with, eyeing the stunning silver band sitting on her index finger.

Donna gladly holds out her hand so that Rachel can observe the newest piece in her collection.

"Now that is just, breathtaking" Rachel coos "What are these numbers for?"

"It's the date I started working for Harvey" she admits, "This was his Christmas gift"

"Well I'll be damned, Harvey Specter a romantic" Rachel says, turning her attention back to the ring.

Harvey walks in to his office to find Mike in a dark blue suit, tie slightly too skinny, sprawled across his couch.

"There you are, I was just about to send a search party we have a meeting in 15 minutes" Mike warns

"Relax I'm here, aren't I?" Harvey says, barely holding back his yawn

"Long night old man?" Mike teases

"An old man joke? That's the best you could come up with?"

"Well it was either that or hope the Viagra helped and I thought the latter was inappropriate"

"And yet you still said it" Harvey says as straight faced as he can manage

"Well one of us had to address the elephant in the room. Seriously though man, I'm happy for you guys" Mike smiles

"Thanks Mike"

"How was dinner with the Zane's?" he asks

"Not bad, I'm not going to lie I still can't get used to seeing Robert Zane in anything but a suit" he laughs causing Harvey to smirk at the thought.

"Which conference room are we in?"

"2" Mike recalls

"I'll meet you in there" Harvey calls as he walks out of his office and towards the kitchen

He stops by her office with 5 minutes to spare before his meeting and hands her the coffee he made her.

"What's this?" she asks

"That's called coffee" he teases

"Smartass" she quips back as Louis rounds the corner and enters her office.

"Harvey, are we still on for mudding in the new year?" Louis asks

"Absolutely not!" Harvey exclaims with a false enthusiasm that momentarily leads Louis to believe he said yes.

"You don't know what you're missing!" Louis calls after Harvey as he makes his way to the conference room.

Harvey calls back over his shoulder at Louis, "Oh I know exactly what I'm missing" and heads into his meeting.

Donna spends most of the day helping Louis sort through the new associate applications so when Harvey sees Louis leave her office to head home her makes his way over.

"Hey beautiful. How was your day?"

"Long and not over yet" she gestures to the paperwork on her desk

"Need a hand?"

"You don't even like doing your own paper work" she challenges in a flirty way.

"Hmmm you're right, what if I order from that shitty Thai place you love so much, and you meet me back at my place when you're done here?"

"I'd like that" she smiles

He's almost out the door when he turns around remembering to ask her about Louis, "How'd Louis take the news?"

"What news?" she asks as she continues to flip through the stack of papers in her hand.

"Us… Together?" he reminds her

"Oh, I didn't get the chance to tell him"

"You spent all day with the man Donna, what do you mean you didn't get the chance to tell him?"

"It didn't come up" she tries to brush it off

"Are you embarrassed of our relationship?" he challenges, face falling as the words leave his lips

"What, why would you think that?" she says accusingly, the conversation getting heated as they both grow frustrated with each other; Harvey at her lack of telling Louis about their relationship and Donna at Harvey's impatience for her to do so.

"Well you were the one who wanted to keep this a secret in the first place, and now you're using any excuse you can come up with to not tell Louis; or anyone else for that matter! What am I supposed to think Donna" he barks at her, throwing his arms up in frustration.

She can see the hurt in his face, she meant to tell Louis, but part of her was afraid. Afraid that once everyone knew it all became real; more real than it already was. People would want to know how and when it happened. They would never be able to have an argument without someone at the firm butting in and offering their two sense. She has no doubt in her mind that he wants this and that he's committed to their relationship and she loathes herself for the fear she feels. She can't be the one to mess this up, not after everything they've been through.

"That I'm scared!" she cries out, crossing her arms over her chest defensively.

"Scared of what?!"

She tries to put into words what she fears, but her Donna-ness seems to be failing her as no words come to her. Instead she stands there searching his eyes for a shred of hope that she hasn't just scared him away. He tells himself to take a deep breath, there was no point in yelling when it was clearly getting them no where.

"Donna I told you, this thing we're doing here, you and me, I'm in, I'm all in, and I thought you were on the same page. But if you still want to keep this a secret, then maybe I was wrong" he sighs and heads down the hallway leaving her alone in her office with her thoughts and the tears that begin to fall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It couldn't all be sunshine & rainbows, I'm not that nice! Stay tuned for Ch 16 - Just Like Old Times


	16. I Told You So - Chapter 16

Ch 16 – Dec 27th – Just Like Old Times

She barely slept, instead she lay awake replaying their argument over and over again in her head. She wants to call him and explain why she didn't tell Louis but she's still struggling to find the right words. She knows she needs to fix this, and she needs to fix it soon. She takes the day off work, unable to face the thought of running into him at the office; at least until she figures out what she's going to say. It's not much of a lie when she says she's taking a sick day, she's felt sick to her stomach since they fought, and she doesn't think her heart has ever ached as badly as it does right now.

Harvey does the exact opposite to patch his hurting heart, he throws himself into work, barking direction at Mike and anyone else who comes within 10 feet of him. He didn't mean to snap at her but he can't fathom why making their relationship public knowledge is such a big deal to her. Mike notices Harvey's sour mood and mentions it to Rachel who fills him in on the fact the Donna took a sick day; and Donna Paulsen NEVER takes sick days. There must be trouble in paradise, Mike thinks to himself, he just hopes that whatever it is his friends can work it out; and based on the love sick looks they both wore when he saw them last, he has faith that they will.

She spends the day sorting through the fears bouncing around in her head, putting together how she's going to explain to him that they are on the same page, she would never be embarrassed of their relationship, and that she was also all in. She's putting on her coat and headed for the door, on her way to his apartment when there's an unmistakable knock on the door. She opens it to find Harvey leaning against the frame, Cheshire cat grin, Thai food in hand.

"Going somewhere?" he questions noticing she's wearing her coat

She slides the coat off as she beckons him in and turns to face him, "To see you actually."

"What are you doing here?" she questions, recalling that if anyone had a right to be angry it was him with her. She knew about his past relationship issues and she knows her failing to tell Louis only sent him into a panic that she'd changed her mind and didn't want this, didn't want him, anymore.

"I came here to tell you I'm sorry" he manages, looking down on her as he towered over her without her heels.

"For what?" she asks, confused

"For pushing you to tell Louis" he shrugs

"Harvey, I'm sorry, I didn't tell him because I'm afraid. I'm afraid that once we do this all becomes so real and I couldn't live with myself if I was the one to mess this up" she mumbles the words she'd spent so long piecing together in her head and then remembers his accusation from the night before.

"But how could you think I don't want this?!" she exclaims, letting her frustration show slightly

"I was hurt Donna, you keeping this from Louis, it made me fear that you'd changed your mind" he admits; just like she feared.

"Harvey, I'm not going anywhere! When are you finally going to accept that!" she shouts. She isn't sure why they're standing in her hallway shouting at each other about nothing. But both being stubborn, neither wants to admit that they were both wrong and they should just kiss and make-up. Harvey is the first to cave in because the moment the words leave her lips, his are on them. In an instant he has her back against the door as he kisses her feverishly. They pause, both breathless and he whispers,

"I'm sorry, I'm not good at this and I panicked"

"I'm sorry too, I'm not going anywhere you know? You have my whole heart" she smiles sweetly at him with a reassuring look that puts all his fear in it's place.

"He begins kissing her again, at first tenderly, sweet and slow as if to show her how much she means to him. As he continues the kisses become harder, hungrier and filled with a desire for more. Before he can scoop her up and carry her towards her bedroom she stops him.

"Wait, there's something I have to do first" she says as she pulls her phone out of her pocket.

She's met with a questioning gaze. She holds the phone up and pulls him towards her by the collar on his shirt and snaps a picture of her kissing him. She types something and smirks before turning the phone off and slipping it back into her pocket and throwing her arms around his neck.

"What did you just do?" he grins

"You'll see" she smiles into his kiss

A few hours later the pair is sitting at the table eating the Thai food when Donna turns her phone back on and sets it on the counter while she goes to grab drinks.

"I don't know why you like this place" Harvey says, trying his best to hide the disgusted look on his face while he chews.

She's about to answer when her phone starts buzzing like crazy, likely a response to what she sent before turning it off. She unlocks it revealing 82 missed messages from Louis and chuckles. She turns the phone towards Harvey so he can see the message she sent. It's the picture of the two of them locking lips with a message below that reads:

Got everything I asked for this year – D

Followed by a bunch of messages from Louis:

Happy for you! Wait a second…

OMG is that Harvey?!

Is this a joke?

I thought you were seeing someone?

I need a day….

Harvey laughs and flips the phone over, rounding the table and walking over to where she's standing, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind and nuzzling his nose into her neck.

"Everything you wanted?"

"Everything I need" she grins

Donna laid in bed waiting for Harvey to return from his shower later that night. As tempted as she was to join him, she took the opportunity to enjoy some alone time. The last few weeks had been an absolute whirlwind, and she was grateful to be able to sit alone with her thought for a little while. Harvey walks back into the room in his towel and smiles at her before placing a kiss on her forehead with a sweet "Hello beautiful." Her heart lurches at the sweetness of his action, and at the moment she can't fathom why she'd ever been afraid of making this real. The Harvey in front of her was fully embracing their new relationship status and she was a tad bit surprised at his full speed ahead attitude, but she secretly loved it. It seemed once he put his feeling out there, there was no taking them back, and she was glad he pushed her to see that making this relationship real was worth it. She'd never felt this way, about anyone. Sure, she'd dated a handful of men, even been in love a few times, but nothing compared to the way she felt with Harvey.

"Thank you" she tells him as he climbs into bed next to her

"For what?"

"For showing me why I shouldn't be afraid of this" she says and he kisses her before laying down facing her.

"I meant what I said Donna, I'm all in"

"Me too" she smiles

"Tell me something I don't know about you" she says after a moment of silence.

"You know everything there is to know"

"Common there's got to be something I don't know" she prods

He pauses, trying to think of something to tell her that she wouldn't already know, she was Donna after all.

He begins, "When I was a kid, I used to fake a stomach ache to get out of doing my math homework" he grins

"That's not what I meant" she smiles

"But you didn't know that, did you?" grin growing bigger

"What if I did" she jokes

"Then that little talent of yours is even scarier then I thought" he winks causing her to laugh. When they both finally catch their breath and stop laughing, he catches her gaze and holds her eyes with his and breaths,

"When you almost went to prison, and lost faith in me… I stayed up all night calling in every favour I had to try and get you out of it"

"Harvey" she says softly, not expecting him to go so deep when answering the question. His eyes stay locked on hers and he continues, brain suddenly thinking of a million things she doesn't know about him, one particularly specific thing standing out.

"I secretly can't stand the song Don't Stop Believing"

She giggles, "I don't think that's a secret"

"13 is my lucky number, but you knew that one too. Hmm let's see something you don't know about me" he says as he pretends to dramatically think, only causing Donna to giggle harder. He lifts his hand to caress her cheek and continues,

"You're the first women I've loved"

She stops giggling and takes in the look he's wearing; sincerity and vulnerability.

"Harvey" she breaths again, "What about Scottie?" She doesn't want to ruin the moment, but she was there for most of his relationship with Scottie and even encouraged him to pursue the relationship when he asked Scottie to stay at the firm. Surely he had been in love with her?

"I may have thought I loved her at one point, but I know now that I was never truly in love with her"

His thumb traces gentle circles across her palm as he watches her take in his words, processing, and he continues,

"If you would've asked me 5 years ago if I loved her, I would tell you I did." Donna stares at him in slight disbelief, why was he telling her about how he used to be in love with someone else?

"But the moment that you told me you loved me, I knew I'd never felt love before, not truly, because I had never felt the way I did in that, in this, moment" he finishes.

She beams at him, her smile contagious, "I love you"

"I love you" he replies with a kiss.

"Can I spend the night?" he asks

"We work tomorrow?" she replies

"So? I have some clothes here, besides now that Louis knows we have nothing to hide, what's the harm in showing up together. It's not like were going to broadcast it to the whole firm, we just won't make an effort to hide it and if people figure it out, so be it" he reasons

"Yes"

"Yes?"

"Yes, stay" she smiles as he pulls her beneath him for a kiss.

"I only have one rule" she adds between kisses

"I'm not a big fan of your rules you know. If it wasn't for them, I could've been doing this years ago" he says looking to her lips

"THIS" she gestures between them in their semi-naked wrapped around each other state, "can not happen at the office"

He fakes pouts, "Ever?"

"I mean it Harvey, it's one thing to know what people are going to say about this, the last thing we need is people thinking we can't work together professionally anymore"

"Alright, but just know I'll be objecting to that rule until the day I die" he smirks.

"You're an idiot" she grins back as they resume lip-locking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed! Next up Chapter 17 - Water Cooler Gossip & Chapter 18- LITT NYE


	17. I Told You So - Chapter 17

Ch 17 – Dec 28th - Water Cooler Gossip (Rated 18+ - sorry kiddies)

She strutted into her office in extra high spirits the next day after grabbing lunch with Harvey, her night with him still has her swooning and nothing can bring her down. She's just about made it to her office when she notices a few associates giggling as they whisper to one another while looking in her direction. A weird feeling washes over her, and she gets the feeling their stares had something to do with her and the name partner leaving for and returning from lunch together. She supposed she's being paranoid, after all she and Harvey grab lunch together all the time. Besides, the pair wasn't exactly trying to keep their relationship a secret any longer, they just weren't about to broadcast it to everyone at the firm.

Harvey spends the afternoon with a particularly difficult client and he can't wait until he can get out of this meeting and head home to start the dinner he was cooking for Donna. A first for Harvey, wanting to leave work to be somewhere else, he supposed she has that effect on him. Maybe their relationship would be the driving force he needed to step away from the office every now and then.

He finds her at his desk, legs crossed and rested on his desk as she twirls her pen around in her hand and leans back in his chair, flipping through some folders.

"Did you forget your office is right next door?" he teases

"I like yours better" she flirts as he takes a seat opposite her and throws her a Specter smile.

"Oh good, I'll just give yours to Mike, I'm sure he'd love the chance to be closer to me"

Donna rolls her eyes playfully and smirks at him, "Please, that kid loves having an office on the opposite side of the building, besides you'd miss having me so close by" she says as she gets up and rounds his desk, slowly heading towards the office door. She pauses standing beside him and lets her palm linger on his shoulder as he looks up at her, much like she'd done purposely at the poker game. "I actually came in here to see if we were still on for later?" she smiles

He stands so that he's now at eye level with her, "I'm making your favourite for dinner" he states and bends down to whisper in her ear, "And I've got whip cream I was thinking we could have for dessert"

"Just whip cream? Nothing to put it on?" she whispers back. He tilts his head and sends a look her way that sends chills down her spine, his eyes following hers as she takes in what he means, his arm barely touching hers but causing her to tingle at the contact.

"I had something in mind" he mumbles back, words barely above a whisper, using a husky ton he knows drives her wild. She's holding his gaze now, almost daring him to take her right there in his office. If it hadn't been made of glass he probably would have, he thinks to himself. He steps towards her ever so slightly, a low warning "Harvey" escapes her lips as she anticipates what's to come, her breath catching in her throat as she feels his breath on her neck, his lips resting above her ear. The air between them charged as his body barely brushes against her bare arms.

"Mr. Specter your 3 o'clock is here" his new assistant says as he strolls into the office, failing to look up from the calendar he is carrying. He looks up and sees Harvey isn't alone in his office like he assumed, in fact the firms COO is talking to him and he seems to have interrupted some sort of moment. If two people could undress each other with only their eyes he imagines it would look exactly like the situation he's just walked in on.

"I'm so sorry Mr. Specter, Ms Paulsen, I didn't mean to interrupt." He panics at his slip up and reddens as Harvey drops Donna's gaze and turns to him.

"It's alright Cameron, come in" he calls before turning back to Donna and sending her a tight-lipped smile, "I'll come find you when I'm done?"

"See you later" she smiles before gently squeezing his arm and heading back to her office. Cameron nods to her with a mumbled "Ms Paulsen" on her way out.

The kid looks so terrified she almost feels bad for him, that is until she watches as two associates walking down the hall turn away from Harvey's office and whisper to one another.

The next morning Donna heads into the file room to get some work done when she stops in her tracks overhearing the musings of several associates. She stays rooted in her spot on the other side of the bookcase, listening to what the wrong group is giggling about.

"I saw them get off the elevator together this morning, they must be together"

"Cameron said he walked in on them practically undressing each other in Harvey's office"

"I guess all you need to do to be promoted around here is sleep with your boss"

She'd heard just about as much as she could take, the last comment pushing her over the edge, and she rounds the corner clearing her throat, catching the attention of the group as she makes her way to the copier. She watches as they freeze, obviously trying to figure out if she'd over heard them as she proceeds to make copies.

In the past, their comments would have bothered her; would've gotten in her head and rattled her cage just like the accusations that often came with her taking the stand. But today, she decided she could care less what other people thought of how she got her job. She knew she fucking earned it! And so did everyone around her that mattered and was important to her. She knew this would come up again once her and Harvey started dating and she had spent a lot of time making her peace with it. She knew what it would always look like to outsiders, and she had decided her new relationship was more important to her than what other people thought. She looks up to find the associates watching her,

"Can I help you?" she asks, and they stand there, still unsure of what to say next.

"You can ask, you know?" she baits them and as if on cue Harvey strolls into the copy room looking for Mike.

He looks from Donna to the stunned associates and looks at her questioningly, "Ask you what?"

"If I slept my way to my position" she says dryly

He takes one look at the now petrified associates and instinctively his protectiveness of her kicks in as he barks at them all to get out of the file room.

She places a hand on his arm gently, "Harvey, it's okay"

He takes her in, looking for any sign that she is upset by what just happened, but she appears to be alright. He knows how badly it hurt her in the past when she was accused of using their relationship to help her career.

"Are you sure?" he asked, concern evident in his tone. He knows by the look on her face that she truly is un-phased by this and he relaxes a bit knowing she means what she's saying.

"They want something to talk about, lets give them something" she smirks mischievously as she walks over and locks the door behind the associates; who all turn their heads at the sound of the lock flipping, raising eyebrows at one another at what the locked door implies.

"Donna?" he lifts an eyebrow at her curiously

"Harvey" she counters, walking back towards him.

She teases him placing a delicate kiss on his cheek, followed by his neck and then pulls away, taking in his reaction to what she's doing as she begins to pull at his tie.

"I thought you said we couldn't do this at the office?" he breaths

"I also said I don't get involved with men I work with" she bats her eye lashes up at him and with that his tongue darts between her lips, desperate for every inch of her and not wasting a second getting to the good stuff.

He backs her against a shelf with a thud, hands on her ass until he has her balanced between his legs. She pulls his body closer to hers, feeling him against her inner thigh as he lifts her up, so he can get closer, her feet finding the shelf opposite them.

She tugs at the buttons of his shirt, wishing they would undo faster but she struggles to focus as Harvey nibbles on her ear. She finally manages to free him of his shirt and moves to his belt, tugging it off eagerly and not wasting any time undoing his pants. He lifts her arms above her head and slows things down, working his hands down her arms and body with incredible patience, his eyes never unlocking from hers as he reaches the hem of her dress and pushes it up, removing her panties and finding her center, eliciting a moan from her that he swallows with his lips. He keeps one hand locked in hers, holding her arm above her head as he thrusts deeper at her request. He kisses her hungrily, wanting more. She tugs on his bottom lip and he nearly loses it, crying out a warning "Donna." He rests his nose against hers as they move against one another, slowing down the pace yet again as they take one another in. He nibbles at her ear as he presses himself flush against her, sending her over the edge with a breathy moan of his name and he slips his tongue past hers, engulfing her in his kiss once more. His motions slow, matching the pace of the kisses she's placing along his jaw line. She tugs on his lip once more and digs her nails into his shoulder, encouraging him to continue. The look in her eye when she pulls back from biting his lip is all the encouragement he needs and in an instant, he's thrusting harder, tugging on her hair as he finishes. His lips come crashing down hard on hers once again and are met with equally hungry kisses from her.

Mike tries to get into the file room to meet Harvey, but the door is locked. He looks around slightly confused; he was sure Harvey said to meet him here, and goes to grab the key he knows Donna keeps hidden in her desk.

They hear the door begin to open as they're getting dressed and smirk at each other knowingly. Donna reaches over to fix Harvey's tie and he beams at her, "So worth being caught" he grins; clearly overly happy about what they just did at work and she smacks his arm playfully.

Mike opens the door and is shocked to find Donna, hair an absolutely mess fixing Harvey's tie. The pair turn and see him and can't suppress their giggles.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Mike exclaims

"This is a place of business" he adds, grin playing at his face. He'd be lying if he said he didn't think Harvey and Donna's inability to keep their hands off each other was adorable and long over due.

"Speaking of business, I have a meeting I should get to" he says placing a chaste kiss on Donna's cheek before exiting the file room

"Aw I don't want to see that!" Mike teases after Harvey

He looks at Donna who is attempting to fix her hair and avoiding his eye contact.

"Not a word" she warns, turning to leave

"I wouldn't dream of it" he chuckles, "Hey Donna" he calls motioning to his cheek indicating her lipstick is smudged. She wipes her cheek and heads down the hall to her office, leaving Mike to chuckle to himself at his friends and their new-found relationship. If it was anything like his and Rachel's; he thinks back to the events that happened in this file room, those two would be married within the year.

On her way back to her office Donna spots Louis for the first time since she'd sent him that text message about her new relationship. He spots her and gestures to his office. She figures she might as well get this conversation over with, it was bound to happen sooner or later.

"Morning Louis"

"Hey Donna" he greets and smiles up at her from his seat at his desk

"It's about time" he smiles up at her from his seat at his desk

"What?" she chuckles

"That you two figured your shit out and can see what we've all seen for years. I'm happy for you Donna" he grins with a toothy grin

"Thank you, Louis"

"How long has this little thing been…?"

"A few weeks" she cuts him off

"And you're happy?"

"Never been happier" she smiles

"Just so you know, if he hurts you, I swear…"

"He won't Louis, we both want this" she grins at the irony of the statement. She once told Mike that her and Harvey didn't want to be together, a blatant lie since she wanted to be with Harvey, she just wasn't sure he reciprocated the feelings.

He nods a sweet smile at her and she smiles back, leaving his office to get back to work.

She bumps into Rachel as she shuts the door to Louis' office.

"Oh sorry!" she exclaims before turning to see who she ran into.

"Oh sorry Rach!"

Rachel eyes Donna taking in her disheveled look, "Um everything okay Donna?"

"Perfect, why?"

"Because there's a massive knot in your hair and you look a little out of sorts"

"Damn it!" Donna calls as the two girls make their way to the ladies room to try and comb it out.

Rachel raises her eyebrow at her friend as Donna frantically tries to brush the knot out.

"What?" Donna notices her observing

"It's just I've never seen you with messy hair at work, in fact I think you're the one who once said 'Everyone has time to make their hair look presentable' and 'I'm too busy being a bad-ass and doing my hair'?"

Donna, getting frustrated and about to give up on the knot and exclaims, "I'm gonna kill Harvey for this!"

Rachel starts laughing at her friends confession, figuring Donna's messy appearance was the work of Harvey himself.

"Alright let's try and tease it out" she offers, helping Donna remove the knot.

After 10 minutes of struggling the girls manage to fix Donna's hair and head back to their work day. On their way out of the bathroom Rachel can't help but snicker.

"Alright, common say it" Donna sighs, admitting defeat and bracing herself for Rachel's comment.

"It's nothing. Just next time you and Harvey decide to … you know.." she raises her eyebrows "at work, tell him your hair is off limits" she laughs as Donna's cheeks redden.

"But don't you worry, I didn't see a thing" Rachel winks as she walks away, knowing Donna would be worried people would think of her relationship with the name partner.

Donna doesn't mind her best friend and her husband both know their dirty little secret, she just has to make sure nothing like that ever happens at work again if she wants people to trust that her and Harvey can handle having both a professional and personal relationship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The office hookup we all needed. Up Next: Ch 18 – Michelle and Mike Ross & Harriet and Harvey Specter and Ch 19 – A LITT NYE


	18. I Told You So Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only 3 chapters left after this! Enjoy Ch 18!

Ch 18 – Dec 29th – Michelle and Mike Ross & Harriet and Harvey Specter

"Oh, common gross I don't want to see that!" Mike teases as Rachel swats his arm in mock dismay sending her friends an apologetic look as Mike comments on the kiss Harvey gives Donna before they pair enter the restaurant to meet there waiting friends.

Harvey drops his hand to the small of Donna's back, guiding her to where their friends are seated next to the glass window Mike was watching them through. They had agreed to a double date with the younger couple and were running a few minutes late due to Harvey's inability to keep his hands to himself while she tried to get ready. He takes her wool coat and hangs it up as they slide into the seats across from Mike and Rachel.

"Better get used to it" Harvey jokes back as he slides his fingers into the spaces between Donna's beneath the table with an added "Sorry we're late" sending her a mischievous grin sending her back to early that evening in her apartment.

Remind me again why we agreed to go to dinner?" Harvey whines from his place at the end of Donna's bed.

"Because they're our friends and they asked" she calls from the closet, where she's searching for something to wear to dinner

She appears from the closet, cream coloured dress in hand and smiles at him, "Besides, we can't spend all of our time locked up in the apartment"

He takes her hand, pulling her flush into his chest and mumbles, "We can't?" before he places a trail of kisses across her collar bone.

"Harveeyyy I need to get ready" she whines pulling away from him and heading towards the bathroom.

"Not if we don't go" he tries, laying back in defeat on the bed

"You're impossible" she calls

"It's not my fault that my girl is so beautiful, and I can't help but want to kiss her"

"Is that all I am to you? A pretty face" she teases

"You're the most incredible women I know" he admits

"You're annoyingly charming, you know that?" she calls as she smiles to herself, heart fluttering at his comment

"That's what happens when I have to practice so I can charm my secretary that seems immune to my usual ways for all those years"

"Ah, so that's why you kept me around so long?"

"Something like that" he smirks

"Speaking of work, I found a way to get the client to sign that deal you've been working on for months, it went through this afternoon"

She never failed to amaze him, without even thinking he spits out, "You're unreal…. What would I do without you? ...move in with me?"

She appears at the bathroom door, dressed and ready to go, wearing a startled expression.

"What?" she whispers, not sure if he was joking around like he used to with the marriage proposals at the office or if there was legitimacy to his question.

"Move in with me" he states rather then questions

"Harvey.." she begins

"No look, we may not have been together for years, but we have, haven't we? You know me better then anyone else and I don't want to waste another second. We've been spending every night together since we got back from Marcus' anyways, why not make it official?"

She reads him, looking for any signs of fear or panic and finds none. She smiles timidly at his gesture and walks over to where he is seated on the edge of her bed, taking his hand in hers.

"I get half of your closet space, right?" she grins, watching his face light up as he takes in her answer

"I'm going to take that as a yes?" he asks

He is answered with her arms wrapping around his neck enveloping him in a kiss as he brings both palms to her cheeks, cupping her face.

He pulls her down on top of him and grins up at her.

"What?" she asks observing his dubious look

"We're gonna be late for dinner" he purrs

"Not possible" Mike shakes his head and chuckles

"I'm so glad we finally get to do this!" Rachel says

"Finally, we've barely been together a month" Harvey remarks

"I think what she means is finally as in you finally manned up and realized you're in love with me" Donna teases causing Mike to snicker at the discomfort evident on his boss' face

"I don't exactly recall you proclaiming your love for me from the rooftops you know" he teases back with a smirk

"Well I'm an actress, pretending is what I do" she remarks. Mike is about to make a joke about what other things Donna might pretend but before he can the waiter comes over to take drink orders.

Harvey orders a round of scotch for the table. Donna watches as Mike sends Rachel a look and she politely tells the waiter to make it three instead. Donna's smile widens as she raises her eyebrow questioningly at her friend, who nods her head in response to the unasked question.

"AHH! No way! Congratulations!" Donna exclaims dropping Harvey's hand and getting up to hug her friend.

Harvey, still oblivious to the silent conversation that has just taken place looks to the girls embracing, extremely confused. Donna returns to her seat and beams at her friend, unable to contain her excitement.

"How far along?" she asks

"About three months" Rachel smiles back and Harvey finally clues in to what's going on.

The waiter returns with their drinks and Harvey raises his glass in congratulations, "To the best future parents I can think of, that's gonna be one lucky kid even though it's stuck with Mike" he smiles, clinking his glass against Mike's.

The night proceeds with the group taking turns and telling stories, laughing as Harvey talks about the first time he met Mike. Rachel's phone rings and she excuses herself to take a call from her mother and Mike decides to grab another round of drinks from the bar for the table; minus Rachel of course. Harvey looks at Donna once they're alone and tucks a stray strand of red behind her ear. She looks incredible tonight, cream coloured high collared dress and her hair pulled back at the top, she always managed to take his breath away. He leans over and whispers in her ear, "You are so beautiful" to which she smiles sweetly and bats her eyelashes up at him with a playful call of his name, as if his comment embarrassed her in a good way. He watches as she turns back to her food as she places her hand on his thigh, "What?" she asks feeling his gaze on her neck.

"Just thinking" he smiles

"About?"

"How happy I am for them" he looks over to where Mike is standing at the bar.

"And I can't believe how beautiful my girlfriend is"

She blushes, still not used to hearing those words come out of his mouth. She turns towards him and finds that Cheshire cat grin staring back at her, his eyes finding hers before she closes hers in response to the kiss he's pulled her into. PDA was not something either were a fan of, but in the moment it just felt right, she didn't want to go another minute without feeling his lips on hers. He deepens the kiss ever so slightly, slipping his tongue past hers eliciting a squeeze from the hand that sits on his thigh. Both pull back, and she blushes again, embraced she let herself get so carried away in a public place. Harvey however just grins at her, not caring who knew how hopelessly in love with this woman he was. She shakes her head and giggles at the smug expression on his face and he responds with a dramatic, "What?"

"How do you manage to do this to me?" she laughs

"I have no idea what you're talking about" he smirks, fully aware of her hatred towards couples who flaunt their relationships in public.

***  
Rachel finishes her phone call and meets Mike at the bar, finding him staring over at their table to see Harvey whispering something in Donna's ear.

"Who would've thought Harvey Specter would be one for PDA" Mike muses

"Oh common, they aren't that bad, besides you could barely keep your hands off me when we started dating" she says and as if on cue Harvey pulls Donna in for a kiss, a much steamer kiss then Rachel and Mike expected from their friends this evening.

Mike just raises an eyebrow at Rachel as he grabs the drinks from the bar, "You were saying?"

"Common, it's sweet, they're in love" Rachel responds.

"It's not my fault you can't resist my charm" he flirts as Mike and Rachel rejoin them.

"What's so funny?" Rachel asks the giggling pair

"Nothing, just Harvey being an idiot" she grins

"What else is new" Mike quips

It was just like old times, spending time with the four of them, except now Harvey could reach over and take Donna's hand as she told a story to the group, and Donna could place a chaste kiss on Harvey's cheek before heading to the bathroom with Rachel. Mike could hardly believe what he was seeing, they had finally figured their shit out and he'd never seen a pair seem so right for each other before. It was as if Donna was Harvey's missing half and he can't believe it took them this long to get to this point; it seemed inevitable.

Once in the bathroom Rachel turns to Donna as she fixes her hair and smirks.

"Oh no you don't get to do that smirky thing with me again" Donna laughs, referring to their conversation in the washroom days prior.

"I just, I've never seen that side of Harvey, he's so smitten" she gushes

"I'm a little surprised myself, I didn't think he had such a romantic side" Donna confesses

"But enough about me. I want to hear all about the pregnancy! Was Mike excited when you told him?"

"Excited, terrified, something like that" she laughs

"When did you find out?" Donna asks

"Just a few weeks ago, we were going to tell you guys sooner but with everything going on we didn't want to distract you" she admits

"Rachel, no matter what is going on in my life you can always talk to me, especially if it's to share something like this!"

"Thanks Donna" Rachel smiles as they head back to the table.

"Hey Rach, before we head back there's something else I wanted to tell you" she says grabbing Rachel's attention

"Harvey asked me to move in with him" she blushes

"Oh my god! Donna that's so exciting" Rachel gushes, "What did you say?"

"I said yes, I'm going to move in, in the new year" Donna smiles

"Would you look at us, Michelle Ross and Harriet Specter getting everything they ever wanted" Rachel says and then chuckles to herself

"What's so funny?" Donna asks

"It's nothing it's just, I actually became a Ross, and who knows maybe someday you'll become a Specter"

Donna smiles at the thought. Donna Specter, has a nice ring to it, she thinks. The girls make their way back to the table and Harvey slings his arm around Donna's shoulder after she slides into her seat.

"What were you ladies gossiping about" Mike bugs his wife, knowing girls only went to the washroom in pairs so they could gossip about their dates.

"Just about how your child was conceived" Donna chimes in causing Mike to nearly choke on his drink.

He looks to Rachel flustered and she reassures him, "She's kidding babe, just typical girl stuff, you know like who's leaving the office, who no longer gets along, who's moving in with who" she pauses to look at the pair across the table and Mike follows her stare.

"Oh no way!" he exclaims with the excitement of a small child on Christmas morning.

"Why didn't you start with that!?"

"We were a little preoccupied celebrating you, dad" Harvey emphasizes, grinning like a fool, happy that Donna had already told Rachel. He assumed her eagerness in telling her best friend meant she was excited about them moving in together and he beamed with pride at his decision to ask her to move in with him.

"Well it looks like we have a lot to celebrate tonight" Mike says raising his glass once again, "To new beginnings"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't planning on writing a chapter before the new years one, but I would love to see a scene with these four in the show, so here's to dreaming a little.  
> Next up: Chapter 19 – LITT New Years Eve, Chapter 20 – I Want Your Midnight's which will be followed by the last chapter in the series Ch -21 (which I can't give the title for just yet)


	19. I Told You So Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little early Christmas gift! Here's the new years eve chapter, Merry Christmas guys!

Ch 19 – Dec 31st- A LITT New Years Eve

7:45pm, he's 15 minutes early and even had time to stop and get flowers; a mixture of red roses and sunflowers this time. In the past he would have just waited for her to get ready and meet him downstairs but today he makes his way to 206 and knocks on the door.

She opens the door wearing a stunning form fitting gold dress. The dress was strapless, simple and elegant and she accessorizes with a simple gold chain that rests slightly above her collar bone and with a pair of deep red heels. She matches her lipstick to the shoes, a deep shade of red he can't wait to take off and has her hair curled and pinned over one shoulder.

"You look… wow" he says, at a loss for words at the site of his girl in the doorway

"You don't clean up so badly yourself" she flirts, reaching forward to adjust his tie and take in his sleek black Tom Ford suit that he had paired with a gold tie that matched the shade of her dress exactly.

She cocks her eyebrow at the colour of the tie, inquiring if he knew she was wearing a gold dress

"I may have seen it in your closet early" he admits sheepishly, "And Gretchen may have helped me find one"

"I brought a black one in case you think the matching is too lame" he adds

"It's perfect" she grins and places a kiss on his cheek as she places the flowers inside and closes the door behind her as they head to the elevator, his hand finding its place on her lower back as she leads the way.

The car ride to the hall Louis had rented out was quiet, a comfortable silence that just felt right as both get lost in their own thoughts. This would be their first staff outing as a couple and Donna was nervous. They had perfected their 'we're just friends' act for years in front of their peers as they fooled themselves into believing it was the truth. Sure, word had spread around the office relatively quickly after her little run in with the associates, but tonight marked the first time they were showing up at an event together.

Harvey takes her hand in his and squeezes it gently, sensing some of her anxiousness as the car pulls up to the curb outside of the venue.

"You ready for this?" he smiles

"God no" she admits

"It'll be alright you know. Nothing that happens in there could ever be bad enough to scare me away from us" he kisses the back of her palm.

She sends him a grateful smile. She is so thankful for how calm he's been at handling all her minor freak outs the past few weeks, she truly was lucky to be loved by him.

"So, are you ready to go be this firms new power couple?" he smirks, grin reaching upwards towards his ears as he slides out of the car and rounds it to open her door. He takes her hand as she steps out of the car and takes a deep breath, this is it, she thinks to herself, they were really doing this.

Harvey places his hand along her lower back and guides her to the door, doing his best to seem calm and prepared; for Donna's sake. Deep down he's nervous for all of question's they'll likely be asked when they walk through that door arm in arm. He just hopes that nobody assumes Donna earned her position because of his feelings for her. She earned that position and he was ready to make her case to anyone who thought otherwise.

She does a double take as they enter the ballroom Louis had rented out for the evening. It was spectacular. The room was decorated with a collaboration of silver and gold and a small brass band wearing all white suits sat on a small stage at the front of the room, the sound of their instruments filling the hall. The dance floor was already packed with people swaying to the music and they bar was equally as packed as people ordered one of the signature cocktails Louis had added to the menu. She spots Mike and Rachel seated at one of the tables opposite the dance floor and starts to make her way in their direction; Harvey in tow.

"I thought he said this was going to be just a few close friends" Harvey whispers, also in awe at the sight of the party.

"What did he do invite everyone he knows?" Harvey jokes as they reach the table their friends are seated at.

"Well don't you two clean up nicely" Mike teases

"I would say the same to you but your tie's to skinny" Harvey quips back, "But Rachel you look lovely" he adds, adding insult to injury.

"Did you know he was inviting this many people?" Rachel whispers

"If I did, I would've had a lot more to drink before coming here" Harvey adds

"Speaking of drinks, I'm going to go find us some" he smiles at Donna before making his way to the bar.

Rachel's head turns to Donna the minute Harvey leaves the table, "You guys are matching" she smirks, causing Mike to let out the laugh he'd been suppressing.

"We are, it was his idea" Donna replies, blushing slightly while also sending a glare in Mike's direction.

"Very senior prom, I dig it" Mike adds, earning him a second glare from his wife.

"Ignore him, I think it's sweet" Rachel says

"Alright I can take a hint, I know when I'm not wanted. I'll go help Harvey with those drinks" Mike says, excusing himself from the table.

"Sorry, he can be such a child" Rachel apologizes

"I'm used to it after all these years" Donna laughs, "Besides he's going to have a real child soon and then maybe he'll learn"

"Speaking of, how are you feeling?" she asks Rachel

"Slightly nauseous and nervous but Mike has been so wonderful and supportive, I don't know what I'd do without him" she smiles

"You guys are going to make wonderful parents. And whenever you need a break, auntie Donna would be happy to babysit anytime"

"Auntie Donna?"

"Ya, that little one's going to need a cool aunt to show them how things are done around here"

"I can't think of anyone better for the job" Rachel smiles  
******

Harvey is about to pay the bartender when Louis finds him.

"Hey Harvey, glad you could make it" he grins

"Louis, I thought this was a small party, what did you do invite half of Manhattan?" he teases

"Oh, you know, just close friends and some of their friends. I wanted it to be a night to remember"

"No doubt it will be Louis"

"Is Donna with you?" Louis asks

"She's right over there with Rachel" he points towards the women who are chatting at the table.

"She looks lovely" Louis remarks, looking at the outfit Donna is wearing

"She always does" Harvey adds, a small smile settling on his face as he watches his girlfriend flailing her arms around while she talks to Rachel.

"I never got the chance to tell you I'm happy for you two" Louis says

"Thanks Louis, I appreciate it" Harvey adds, patting Louis on the back and reaching for his drinks as Mike approaches them.

"Girls kick you out?" Harvey asks

"How'd you know?"

"Doesn't take a genius to figure out why" he laughs and passes Mike a glass as they turn back to the table Rachel and Donna are seated at. Shelia has joined them, and the three women are engaged in a light-hearted conversation, filled with laughter.

Louis raises his glass between Mike and Harvey and smiles at the table across from them. "Who would've thought that three guys like us could get three women as wonderful as those three" he smiles as the other two clink their glasses against his and take a sip.

"I should go and check on the food" Louis remarks

"Actually Louis, before you go Rachel and I have something we wanted to tell you" Mike says

"She's pregnant" Louis interrupts

"What? How could you possibly know that?" Mike says, confused.

"It's obvious isn't it? Rachel's a foodie but she hasn't touched any of the sushi I've had circling and I know she's been dying to try the spicy salmon from that place on the corner of 47th. Plus, she hasn't ordered any of my signature cocktails, and she usually loves my drink menu"

Mike and Harvey stand there slightly shell shocked. Who knew Louis could be so observant?

"What?" Louis questions, "Is that not what you were going to tell me?"

"No it is, I just… wow okay yes, Rachel's pregnant" Mike spits out and Louis wraps him in a tight hug

"I'm so happy for you two! Who knows maybe one day our little ones will even be friends"

"Greeeaatt" Mikes says, tone dripping with sarcasm

"Okay I really should check on the food" Louis says

"Of course, go ahead" Harvey says, still laughing at the look on Mike's face from when Louis pulled him on for that hug.

They had back to the table drinks in hand and Harvey chuckles to himself.

"What?" Mike asks

"Nothing, just the thought of you and Louis going on play dates is fantastic"

"I'm sure you'll be joining us soon enough" Mike adds, and the comment is enough to shut Harvey up and they reach the table and he hands Donna her drink with a sweet peck on the cheek, sliding into the seat next to her.

Eventually Louis joins them at the table and the group chats about the firm, how Louis is fitting into his new role as managing partner and finally the conversation settles on who will do a better job as name partner, Alex or Samantha, who were both floating around somewhere at this party. The entire time Harvey keeps his arm thrown across the back of Donna's chair, whispering remarks in her ear every so often and causing her to spontaneously giggle.

Louis watches as the pair make eyes at each other and can't help but grin at the flirty relationship playing out before him. Who would've thought they'd finally see the day Harvey Specter would settle down; with a woman like Donna no less. He's about to make a comment about it when his eyes find the figure approaching their table.

"Well, well, I didn't think you guys would be able to make it on such short notice" Louis says

"We wouldn't miss this for the world" Jessica smiles looking around the table at the now rather grown up lawyers. Never in a million years did she think she'd see the day the fraud was happily married and expecting a child with one of her most promising paralegals, nor did she expect to be congratulating Louis Litt for being managing partner of a firm that once bore her name. She watches as Harvey's hand finds a place on Donna's leg and smiles to herself; the womanizing, arrogant young lawyer she once plucked from the mail room was now a confident leading man who had finally found the right women to settle down with, who would've thought they'd all come so far?

Harvey gets up to greet her with a hug, "Jessica"

"Harvey" she smiles back, "Nice tie" she smirks and moves past him to greet the others as Jeff follows suit.

After catching up with Jessica and Jeff the group disperses to go and mingle, and Harvey and Donna find themselves at the bar when Samantha spots them. Samantha grins to herself as she makes her way over to them, Harvey holding Donna flush against his side as the wait for their drinks; she'd heard the rumors and she had eyes for god's sake, but it was nice to know she wasn't wrong when she assumed the pair had more going on then meets the eye when she first started at the firm. As Samantha and her date approach them, Donna greets her,

"Wow Samantha you look amazing"

"You too, but you don't need me to tell you that" she smirks, "Harvey, I guess you look alright to" she adds flatly. The two had yet to become friends but considered themselves allies for the firms sake. Donna turns away from the group to grab the drinks they had been waiting for.

"This is Colin" she gestures towards the man next to her, "Colin this is…"

"Harvey Specter, I remember, wow how long has it been since the DA's office" he exclaims, reaching out to shake Harvey's hand

"You two know each other?" Sam questions

"We worked together for a few months at the DA's office" Colin answers, "Harvey used to always flirt with this secretary he had, beautiful red head, what was her name again?"

Samantha tries to suppress a giggle as Donna turns back to the group as if on cue and watches Colin's face drain.

"Donna, her name was Donna" Harvey smirks pulling his girlfriend closer to his side as she smiles and greets Colin, "Good to see you Colin"

"No way! You finally gave into his school boy charm, eh Red?"

"Something like that" she smiles into Harvey's cheek

"Harvey you're still at the same firm right?" Colin asks

"I am"

"And what about you Donna, where are you working now-a-days?"

"She's our firms COO" Samantha chimes in

"Congratulations" Colin offers as Samantha mumbles something about them needing to find Robert and excusing them from the conversation.

Harvey turns to Donna, "Well if that's the most awkward conversation we'll have all night, I'd say this night was a success"

"Easy there, Specter you still haven't asked me to dance"

He holds out a hand to her and places his drink down on the bar, "May I?"

She smiles back at him and places her hand in his palm, following him to the dance floor as the band starts to place a slower jazz song, The Way You Look Tonight.

Donna looks over Harvey's shoulder as he holds her against him as he moves them to the music and notices both Mike and Rachel and Louis and Shelia have joined them on the dance floor. She smiles to herself, thinking this is exactly how it was always supposed to be, the two of them, here together. He twirls her away from him and then pulls her back in, whispering the words to the song in her ear in a hushed tone, barely audible, but loud enough she can hear him, and it makes her heart flutter.

"Lovely, don't you ever change"

She presses her cheek closer to his as the pair dance cheek to cheek. Both of his hands wrap around the small of her waist, her hands wrapped around his neck, fingers playing with the hair at the nape of his neck.

Keep that breathless charm. Won't you please arrange it?

He pulls back from the spot his lips hovered above her ear and locks his eyes on the gold flecks in hers as he delivers the last line.

"Cause I love you"

She smiles softly at him, she adores when he's goofy like this but there's a sincerity behind the words he's singing to her that causes her cheeks to redden.

"And the way you look tonight"

He whispers before pulling her in for a tender kiss. When his lips find hers for the first time that evening, she melts into the kiss. It had only been a few hours since he picked her up, but she missed the feeling of his lips on hers. She deepens the kiss slightly before pulling back, grin growing as he twirls her one last time before the song comes to an end. They are so wrapped up in one another they don't have time to notice to group of onlookers they have, not that they would have cared had they noticed, they were having too much fun just being together as the next song starts up and Harvey dips Donna making her laugh.

The group of associates by the bar watches as Harvey holds the firms COO close as the music drones on. They finally had the answer to the question that had been floating around the rumor mill the last few weeks, the name partner and COO were more than friends and far past only sleeping together like many members of the firm speculated. The look on Harvey's face was enough to shut down any rumor of the pair being some form of friends with benefits, it was clearly the look of a man in love.

Mike smiles looking at the pair beside him and Rachel watches his gaze as he looks to them.

"What?" she questions

"Would you look at those crazy kids, so in love" Mike smiles at his friends he'd always known belonged together. He was so glad they'd finally made it.

It's a few moments until midnight and the group gathered in a small section of the dance floor, laughing and dancing as Louis announces they are about to begin the countdown.

10

9

Harvey grabs Donna's hand and pulls her from a conversation with Rachel, spinning her around so that she faces him.

"Hi" she smiles

"Hi" he smiles back

8

"Having fun?" he asks

7

"Surprisingly, yes. This is exactly how I wanted to spend my night, surrounded by people I love"

6

"Nothing could've made this night better?"

5

"Maybe spending it alone with you"

4

"Exactly what I was thinking" He remarks with a raised eyebrow

3

"Which is why" he continues "I got you this" and pulls a card from his pocket and hands it to her

2

She flips it over and begins to read it, smile growing upwards as she finishes.

1

HAPPY NEW YEAR! The room bursts as Harvey scoops Donna into his arms and dips her for a dramatic kiss. When she stands up from the dipped position he scooped her into, he brings his hand to her cheek and runs his fingers along it,

"Happy New Year Donna" he says

"Happy New Year Harvey" she smiles

She slips the card he handed her into her purse before joining the group on the dance floor to celebrate the new year. She smiles to herself as she closes the bag, sealing the card in its place. She doesn't know what the new year will bring them but she's certain this year is going to be the best one yet.  
*****  
Harvey's Note:

Dear Ms. Paulsen,

You are invited to welcome the new year with yours truly, the right way; just the two of us.

My place. Tomorrow. 8pm.

Harvey  
*****

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Holiday's guys! I hope you enjoyed a LITT new years eve and I'd love to hear your thoughts! xx
> 
> Stay tuned for Ch 20 - I want Your Midnights and Ch 21 - Harriet Specter, Meet Donna Specter


	20. I Told You So - Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Guys! Hope everyone had a Happy Christmas and enjoy Ch 20 :)

Ch 20 – Jan 2nd– I Want Your Midnight's

She shows up at his apartment just before 8pm and finds a note taped to the door telling her he's in the kitchen and to let herself in. She opens the door to find a candle lit hallway, the lights dimmed and the soft yellow light from the candles bouncing off the walls, Miles Davis playing softly in the background.

"Harvey, what is all this?" she calls, her eyes mesmerized by the soft light illuminating not only the hallway but the living room as well. He appears from the kitchen, spoon in hand.

"I thought we should celebrate the new year the right way" he grins pulling her in for a kiss before she follows him into the kitchen and takes a seat at the island as he goes back to stirring the sauce he has on the stove.

"This is incredibly sweet" she coos.

"As much as I love ringing in the new year with our little firm family, I also wanted to celebrate it with my girl"

Her cheeks redden slightly at his mention of her being his girl.

"Do me a favour? Pass me a spoon out of that top drawer" he gestures towards the drawer next to her

She slides the drawer open to grab him a spoon when she spots something shiny and silver wrapped in a small red bow. She picks it up and turns it over in her hands, sending him a questioning look.

"What?" he asks innocently

"What is this?" she examines the can opener in her hand

"Can't a guy feel a bit nostalgic?" he protests

"The Harvey Specter I know doesn't have a nostalgic bone in his body" she jokes

"That is where you're wrong, I'm plenty nostalgic" he protests.

"I was just thinking back to that day at the diner. I would never say I regret asking you to come work for me, but I can't help but wonder what would've happened if I had told you how I really felt about you."

"What would you have said?" she asks, curiosity getting the best of her.

"I would've told you how much that night meant to me. That I wanted to do it again and that I could care less about your rule, I wanted everything" he admits, as he turns to face her from his spot across the counter.

"Why didn't you?"

"I was young and scared. Scared of my feelings for you and of losing you. You were, and are, one of the only constants in my life and I didn't want to risk messing with one of the only good things I had."

"But you were right you know, like you always are" he continues, "I was into you, and once I was lucky enough to have you, it killed me to share you. Watching you date men who weren't good enough for you, it killed me Donna. But I wasn't good enough for you either, at least not yet. And I wanted to see you happy, so I kept my mouth shut and did my best to be supportive."

"Harvey…" she begins softly

"Hold on, let me finish…" he interrupts

"That" he gestures to the can opener she's holding, "is a constant reminder of the mistake I made all those years ago, but it's also a reminder of all those incredible years we got to work together, to grow together. I wasn't good enough for you back then, but I want you to know I'm going to spend the rest of my life trying to be a man worthy of you"

She's shocked and slightly blinded sided by his emotional speech, but she's touched by his gesture. She rounds the counter and places a chaste kiss on his cheek.

"I can't think of anyone who has ever done something so sweet for me" she says as she looks around at the candles and the meal he's preparing. The evening alone was enough to make her heart flutter, his can opener gift and declaration of how he plans on trying to be a man worthy of her sends her heart off to the races.

"I was scared too you know? Back then" she adds as she slides back into her seat

He tilts his head with an eyebrow cock at her statement. "You were right too. I was into you. And I only made up that rule to protect myself from my feelings towards you"

"So, you've been pining for me" he jokes before offering her a gentle smile as he turns back to the sauce as the pot begins to scream.

"I think it's time we start a new ritual" she remarks

"We haven't had a ritual in years" he replies

"Exactly why we should start a new one" she smiles

"What did you have in mind?" he asks

"Two things. First I was thinking…" and beckons him to lean forward so she can whisper in his ear. His eyebrows shoot up in response to her words.

"I think people at the office would notice" he grins a devilish grin at the mere thought of her words.

"I was thinking that could be a pre-firm ritual we could do at home" she adds, pulse racing at her use of the term home, referring to Harvey's apartment she was moving in to in a few weeks time.

"As for at the firm, I'm thinking we go with a hole punch this time"

"Alright, new ritual it is" he agrees.

They finish dinner and find themselves snuggled up under a blanket on the couch by the fire watching a movie as 10 o-clock approaches.

Donna cuddles into Harvey's side as he runs his fingers along the length of her arm and looks up at him and whispers, "When was the first time you looked at me that way?"

Harvey doesn't even need a moment to think about it before he replies, "That first time you introduced yourself in the bar, I wanted to take you home" he finishes, smirk returning to his face as he recalls that night. He was on a high after his first big win when the young red-head approached him. The moment he saw her he couldn't take his eyes off her, she was beautiful. Then she did her whole "Donna" thing and he was sold. He would've taken her home from the bar that night had she not shot him down, and he'd been secretly looking at her that way every now and then ever since that night. He knew that day really had been his lucky day, because it was the day, she turned his life upside down.

"I know that" she swats at his arm, "I meant after we started working together"

"I don't know if I ever stopped really looking at you that way" he admits. He knows she's wants a specific event, so he tries his hardest to pin-point the first time he couldn't stop looking at her that way, like he forced himself to do in all the other instances.

"Okay let's see…. Remember that time I came into my office and you were sitting there with your feet up on my desk?"

She nods slightly, "I do that a lot" she responds

"I'm talking about one of the first times you did it. You had a long gray dress on, and those ridiculous bangs and those insanely high heels. When I spotted you sitting there as I rounded the corner, it was the first time I couldn't stop myself from looking at you that way."

"Stop yourself?"

"I just told you Donna, I'm human, I've always looked at you that way, I just convinced myself it didn't matter, that you didn't want more, and I stuck to your rule and convinced myself I didn't see you that way"

She's happily surprised at his admission and lifts her head up, so he can kiss her. He looks down at the red-head in his lap and smiles, "What about you? When did you know you were into me?"

"Once we were at Pearson Hardman?"

"Ya"

"Do you remember when you and Mike fought to free Clifford Danner?"

Harvey nods

"That was when I started to look at you in that way for the first time since well, the other time. But I forced myself to believe what I was feeling wasn't real and I boxed it up; for a while anyways. The second time" she continues, "was when you showed up at my apartment ready to take the fall for Mike. I knew then that if you went to prison, I'd never get the chance to tell you I wanted more. And I guess I've been doing the same thing you have ever since, looking at you that way and pretending it's normal."

"I guess we'd just gotten really good at pretending, huh?" Harvey remarks, a smile growing on his face

"What?" she smiles back

"I'm just glad we don't have to pretend anymore" he says, placing a sweet kiss on the top of her head.

Harvey grabs the remote and flips through the channels until he settles on a re-run of It's a Wonderful Life.

"Donna?" he asks, question lingering through his voice

"Yes?"

"Did you love me when Louis asked you during mock trial?"

"Probably" she admits

"I just hadn't admitted it to myself yet"

Harvey moves Donna over slightly and gets up, pulling her up after him.

"What?" she questions

"I almost forgot I have something to show you" he grins, pulling her after him towards the bedroom.

"Harvey, what is so urgent we had to get up right now?" she calls, struggling to keep up as he pulls her through the door to his room.

"Okay, close your eyes" he says

"Harvey!" she protests

"Just trust me Donna" he reassures, and she closes her eyes reluctantly. She hears him shuffling around he room and hears a door open before he calls

"Okay, open"

She opens her eyes and they move around the room to find him sitting in a half empty closet, Cheshire cat grin plastered across his face.

"What is this?" she gestures to the empty closet as she walks in and stands beside him

"This is yours" he smiles

"But I'm not moving in for a few weeks" she adds

"I just wanted everything to be ready for when you do, and besides, I wanted to be the first to add to your new collection" he gestures towards the box sitting on the shelf. She smiles and makes her way over to the box, opening it to reveal a beautiful new Hermes bag.

"Harvey, you didn't have to do all of this" she says turning to face him

He wraps his arms around her waist, enveloping her in a hug.

"I wanted to" he smiles into her hair

"I also may have gotten you a toothbrush" he smirks

"A little presumptuous, don't you think?" she laughs

"I prefer the term excited" he jokes

"How excited?" she teases, raising her eyebrow and cocking her head.

"Very" he grins walking her backwards towards the bed with a kiss.

"Wine?" Harvey offers to Donna who is laying beside him on the bed in his shirt

"I'd love some" she smiles, following him to the kitchen as he fetches two glasses.

He grabs the glasses and places them on the counter, turning to face her where she stands in front of the island.

"Look what time it is" he nods towards the clock that reads 11:59

He steps towards her and runs his hands down her arms, slipping his fingers between hers and whispering into her ear, "10, 9" sending shivers down her spine as his breath tickles her ear.

"8, 7, 6" he pulls back slightly and places a delicate kiss on her lips.

"5, 4, 3" he whispers

"2" he steps back and locks his eyes on hers

"1" she whispers, and he leans in to kiss her, hand grazing her cheek and coming to rest on her shoulder.

"Happy New Year Donna" he whispers

"Happy New Year Harvey" she whispers back

He scoops her up and carries her back toward his bedroom, wine bottle in hand, ready to ring in the new year the right way; just the two of them.

When they return to work the next day (rather late after a morning of not wanting to leave the bedroom) Harvey makes his way into Rachel's office.

"Harvey, what brings you down here?" Rachel questions looking up from her desk

"I need a favour" he smiles

"Sure, what is it?" she asks

"What are you doing this afternoon?"

"Nothing I can't move, why? What's going on Harvey?" Rachel asks, suspicious since Harvey had only been in her office a handful of times in the past few years.

"I need you to help me with something, for Donna"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd love to hear your thoughts! The last chapter is coming your way, Ch -21 Harriet Specter, Meet Donna Specter


	21. Harriet Specter, Meet Donna Specter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And one last time, enjoy the final chapter of I Told You So:

Ch 21 – Harriet Specter, Meet Donna Specter

Feb 2nd - 1 Month Later

"The defendant would like to call Donna Paulsen to the stand" Louis says

"Do you love Harvey Specter?" She hears the ghost of Louis' accusations in the back of her mind.

She looks at Mike and Harvey, a slight panic on her face. They told her she might get called, and she supposes a mock trial was as good a time as any to prepare.

She makes her way to the stand and takes a seat facing the opposition, Louis and his mock client Alex. Across from them sit Harvey and his client Samantha. The firm had set up a mock trial to go over a case Alex had gotten involved in that they worried might be taken to court after a CEO of the company was found guilty of fraud. She had helped Alex out on a few case files so when Harvey approached her with a warning that she might be called to the stand she wasn't surprised.

It was an all hands-on deck situation it seemed. Louis, as managing partner had agreed to defend Alex, and Harvey and Samantha happily volunteered to fill in for the other side. A rather pregnant Rachel agreed to step in as the judge for this mock trial and Mike took the opportunity to mentor some of the new associates, viewing this as a learning opportunity. Harvey and Donna were both aware that his agreeing to participate in this trail meant that he would likely have to cross examine her on the stand, and that whatever happened at work, stayed at work.

They had been doing so well the past month, their relationship only seeming to get stronger as time went on. They were living together now, although Donna did still technically own her apartment, she couldn't come to think of the last time she'd been home. Adjusting to life as a couple at work was easier then they thought it would be. They spent so much time flirting with one another at work that no one other than their close friends seemed to notice the change in dynamic between the two. Their relationship was public knowledge at this point, after Donna's little run in with the associates the news spread like wild fire among those who did notice the change in dynamic. After a few weeks no one seemed to care anymore as the next piece of hot gossip surfaced with Rachel's growing stomach. They of course remained very professional at work; except for that one time they got a little carried away in his office when no one was around, and that other time in the file room.

She takes the stand and braces herself for what's to come. She knows they've agreed to forget about whatever happens here today once they walk out that door, but she'd be lying if she said she wasn't nervous. Somehow these mock trials always took a turn and ended up focused on her and Harvey.

About you and Harvey? Yes, about me and Harvey! It's always about me and Harvey! Last time! This time! It rings through her ears.

What she doesn't know is that Harvey had asked Louis to call her to the stand, so he could cross examine her. Her involvement in this case was minimal, and if it was actually taken to court she likely wouldn't be called to the stand, but he had a plan and so far, it was going perfectly, she didn't suspect a thing.

Louis begins questioning her "Ms Paulsen, is it true that you helped Mr. Williams organize the files for this case?"

"Yes"

Louis approaches the stand and stares Donna straight in the eye,

"And is it true that you and Mr. Williams altered one of the documents to benefit his client"

"We didn't alter anything!" she protests

"Are you sure? Because I hear you have a history of tempering with documents"

"Objection, irrelevant" Harvey interjects

"Ms Paulsen answer the question" Louis prods

"I'll ask you one more time, did you and Alex Williams temper with a document?"

"No, we didn't!" she's clearly getting worked up and Louis takes his shot.

"Alright Ms Paulsen let me ask you this then" he pauses "Do you love Harvey Specter?"

"I don't see what that has to do with this?" she questions

"Just answer the question" Louis barks at her "You're with him all the time, your life revolves around him, your work revolves around him. Do you love Harvey Specter?!"

She's confused as to where he's going with this. Maybe he's trying to tie her relationship with Harvey to how she shredded that file all those years ago? Whatever the reason, she wasn't about to cave in to what he wanted.

"Yes, I do"

"And would you say you love this man more than you've ever loved anyone before?" Louis continues, causing Donna to blush

"Irrelevant, your honour" Harvey jumps in again, looking to Rachel to side with him.

"I'll allow it" Rachel announces, "Just answer the question, Ms Paulsen"

Donna pauses before answering, "Yes, I do"

"No further questions your honour" says Louis as he takes a seat next to Alex. Harvey gets up to cross examine her and she manages a weak smile, still trying to figure out where Louis was going with his line of questioning.

"Ms Paulsen, you said that you and Mr. Williams did not alter the document in question, do you recall seeing the document during discovery?"

"Yes, it was in the case files, but we didn't make any changes to it" she answers

"And did anyone other than you or Mr. Williams have access to these files?" he questions

"Just yourself" she answers

"Would you agree that I am the best version of myself when I'm with you?" he asks

She looks at him with a confused expression, "I don't know how to answer that" she responds

"I'd say everyone here can agree that I would be lost without you" he pauses, "You push me to be the best version of myself and what I did to deserve you, I'll never understand. I knew you were something special the moment I met you. You are the absolute love of my life" he smiles

She's smiling at him now, watching him try and hold back the small tear threatening to escape his eye.

"Do you have a question counselor?" Rachel pushes

"Just one, your honour" he rounds the table until he's standing in front of Donna, his hand reaching into his jacket pocket.

"Donna Roberta Paulsen, will you marry me?"

He's on one knee in front of the entire fake courtroom/library filled with their coworkers and friends. She's speechless, bringing her hand to her mouth to cover her shocked expression and using the other to wipe the tears from her eyes she nods her head, unable to think of any words at the moment. He approaches her on the stand and slides the ring on her finger before taking her in his arms and kissing her deeply, resulting in some woo's from the associates in the back and a few awe's from Rachel.

"I love you" he mumbles between kisses

"I love you too" she replies

She's been sitting at her desk staring at the ring on her finger for the last half-hour. The blue tinted diamond sitting perfectly on top of a halo of smaller silver diamonds, complete with a white gold band. It's perfect and she can't believe he put together an entire mock trail and involved all of their co-workers just to make the moment so special. She'll never understand how she got so lucky to have won the heart of such a caring, kind-hearted man.

In a weird way, trials had always brought the two of them together. The first time she'd been called to the stand, Louis accused her of loving Harvey. When she was fired from the firm and he told her he wanted her to come back because he needed her, things started to change. They were reminded briefly of that connection that existed between them, only showing itself the other time prior to this instance. The second time she was called to the stand they were reminded yet again of their loyalty to one another, a loyalty that stemmed from both friendship and feeling. And now, for the third time they entered into a trial together, only this time to be rewarded with a happy ending. No tears or mixed emotions, no undeclared feelings or heartbreak.

She turns he hand over as the ring catches in the sunlight a faint memory echoing through her head, causing her to smile

"Marry me?" A young Harvey asked as she sat at her desk outside his office

"I took care of that too, we've been married for the last seven years"

She smiles down at the ring, after everything they'd been through,

.

.

The other time;

Never? Why not? …. Because you can never go back

She flashes back to a young Donna and Rachel having drinks in Harvey's office

.

I don't get involved with men I work with…

She sees a younger version of herself putting her guard up against a charming young Harvey at the DA's office.

.

What are we waiting for?

The Cheshire cat grin leaning against her door frame, can of whip cream held firmly behind her back.

.

.

The denial;

…. Just because it bother's me, it doesn't mean….

The diner. When Harvey finally admitted her relationship with Stephen bothered him. His office. Where she told him his relationship with Paula bothered her.

.

.

Harvey and I don't want to be together

She hears, once having tried to convince both Mike and her self that she didn't want more with Harvey.

.

.

I didn't feel anything when I kissed you!

She hears the scream echo through the firm lobby.

.

.

The friendship;

Wow you really know him…. I really do

.

.

Harvey and I, are like this…

She folds her fingers together in her lap, mirroring her gesture from a decade prior.

.

.

The thought of you going to prison, makes me want to drop to my knees

A young Harvey admits to a young, terrified Donna on trial

.

.

Thank you… For what?... For twelve years

She can see this one clearly, him approaching her desk outside of Louis's office. Bracing herself for another fight and being met with a sincere thank you. She smiles at the memory, a personal favourite.

.

.

Have faith in him, like I have faith in you!

The words once again echo through her head, flashing back to the time she begged him not to take the fall for Mike, not to leave the firm, not to leave her.

.

.

And the heartache;

You and Stephen, it bothers me...

She knew it did but hearing him say it made it so real. She had been so hopefully the last time they sat across from each other in this diner, after the other time.

.

.

Love me how?

Words heavy enough to fill Harvey's entire office. A question that would go unanswered for years and ultimately broke her heart. And as she now knows, broke his heart too.

.

.

No Harvey, you have everything!

Except me, she had thought when she originally yelled it. She can still see the confused look on his face as she screamed the words at him.

.

.

I'm leaving you Harvey…  
Even the thought of the statement leaves her mouth dry, all these years later.

.

.

They had somehow managed to get here and she can't help but smile down at the ring on her finger as the last 14 years plays out in her head.

Harvey watches from her door as she flexes her finger and smiles to himself. He'd been waiting for the right time to ask her to marry him since their own little new years celebration, the moment he knew if the rest of his nights were like that one, he would die a happy man. He enlisted Rachel for help the next day, and the two of them began planning immediately. Having to be extra careful Donna didn't figure out what they were up to, it took them a lot longer then he had hoped. But watching her face light up today when he asked her made every agonizing second worth it.

He smiles to himself, lost in his own thoughts.

That day at the bar really was his lucky day, and every day that followed it he got even luckier. It may have taken them a while to get here, but he was so glad that they had.

She must be very special…. She is

He smiles at the memory of the first time he indirectly mentioned her to his mother.

Are you saying you're coming back to me?

Her nod made him the happiest he'd been in months, his girl was coming back to him.

Right up until a few hours ago when she made him the happiest man in the world by agreeing to marry him.

She notices him on the doorway and smiles at him, shutting her laptop and moving to grab her bag.

"Are you ready to head home Mrs. Specter?" he asks, slipping his fingers between hers.

"That's Paulsen-Specter to you" she grins.

"You know I'm a little surprised you decided to do this here, at work" she says as the stroll hand-in-hand towards the elevators.

"I thought about whether or not it was too much but then I realized, we wouldn't be an us without this place" he smiles towards where his name rests proudly on the wall.

"It was here that I realized I was in love with you after all those years. We've spent the last 15 years working side by side in this place. Besides, trials seem to be our thing" he smirks pulling Donna in for a kiss.

"Break it up love birds!" Mike calls as him and Rachel approach from down the hall

Harvey rolls his eyes at Mike as he pulls away from Donna, keeping his hand planted firmly on her side as the young couple catches up to them.

"We know you guys probably want to get home and ugh…celebrate… but we had something we wanted to ask you first" Rachel says

"Sure" Donna smiles

"We wanted you two to be the godparents for our little girl" Rachel smiles

"It's a girl?!" Donna exclaims

"It is" Rachel smiles

"I think what Donna means is, we would love to" Harvey adds, shaking Mike's hand.

"We couldn't think of two people better for the job" says Rachel

"Well someone's going to have to teach the little one how to through a baseball" Harvey answers as the elevator finally arrives

Harvey and Donna step in as Donna bids one more congratulations to Rachel, she's so excited to have a little girl to spoil!

Harvey turns to face her once the doors close, "So, what do you think?"

"What do I think about what?"

"What about if after we got married, we tried for a little girl" he smiles timidly. He loved the idea of a miniature Donna running around.

"Are you serious?" she replies

"Like I told you once before, I'm in Donna, I'm all in"

Her smile expands as she grabs on to his collar and pulls him in for a kiss.

"I'd like that. And I wouldn't be opposed to a little boy either. A mini Harvey" she teases

"How about one of each?" he cocks his eyebrow

"I like the sound of that" she hums

"What do you say we go plan that wedding, so we can get started on the second part" Harvey winks

"Take me home Mr. Specter" she flirts

"As you wish Mrs. Specter, sorry Paulsen-Specter. Hmm I don't know babe, Donna Specter does sound nice" he grins

Donna Specter. She liked the ring it had to it. She chuckles to herself as they walk towards the car. Who would've thought Rachel would be right; Harriet Specter, it was time to meet Donna Specter.

Fin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hey guys! I worked extremely hard on this chapter and I have been dying to share it with you! This was my first fanfic ever and I appreciate all the support! Thanks for going on this crazy little ride with me, I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I plan on writing another one in the future so keep an eye out for it.
> 
> Much love - Sarah xx


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